


Witch Hunt

by theangelicstoryteller



Category: Homestuck
Genre: F/M, I just tagged this to hell and back, Medievalstuck, jadekat and dirkjade are short and fleeting and only on later chapters sorry, medieval stuck, medievaltuck au, this starts out slow with the couples but i promise they will be there
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-05-17
Updated: 2013-08-13
Packaged: 2017-12-12 03:08:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 34,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/806482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theangelicstoryteller/pseuds/theangelicstoryteller
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>The prompt, as given to me on the original site, writtenhomestuckrequests.tumblr.com, by Prospitsprincess (then Halfwritten-fairytale):</p><p>    You should write a DaveJade fic in the medieval stuck AU. Where Jack Noir is king for now, John’s the Heir Apparent,Dave is John’s personal knight, and Dave’s been sent to bring Jade in to be burned, John doesn’t like the idea of killing anyone so when Dave gets back with this witch he’s fallen for (not that he’d ever admit it) John begs him not to and they devise a plan to kill Jack Noir, Make John King, and fluff ensues…</p>
        </blockquote>





	1. The Assignment

The sounds of the other knights marching under the balcony echoed off the stone castle walls. Heir Apparent John Egbert of Windenshade watched them as they went, leaning over the side of the railing and bored out of his mind. The wind for which his land was known whistled around the stone tower and walls, ruffling John’s eternally mussed black hair. His blue eyes blinked behind his rectangular glasses, overall unfazed by the nearly ceaseless wind.

“It’d be really cool if I could go with them,” he said, still looking down at the soldiers. “To ride into battle with them, my trusty hammer at my side… that would be awesome!”

“With all due respect, milord, don’t be stupid,” said another toneless male voice beside him,.

“What, you don’t think I could do it?” John said, looking to his right.

The voice’s owner was a man the same age as John. His blond hair swept downward, sweeping into his bright red eyes. His cloak and the padding beneath the heavy armor he wore matched the odd hue of his eyes. His breastplate was engraved with the symbol of his house; a simple gear. A sword of unparalleled craftsmanship was strapped to his side. He stood at attention, his hands folded behind his back.

“May I speak plainly?” the knight asked flatly.

“Dave, of course you can!” John said, exasperated. “Don’t be stupid!” he added.

Dave sighed, his stance relaxing and his arms swinging down to his side. “Look man, you’re like some ritzy hermit. You’ve barely been outside the walls of a goddamn castle, let alone gotten into an actual fight. And if you did get into one, if you lost your glasses you’d be finished. You wouldn’t last ten seconds out there.”

“I would, too!” John said indignantly. “I–!”

The door burst open and a young man, also with glasses and dark ruffled hair, came running in. The page robes that he wore rustled around his knees; his houses’ insignia, which looked like a pair of abstract wings in flight, were blazing across his chest. His robes swished wildly as he stopped suddenly midway into the room, where he bowed, his dark green eyes dropping to the floor.

“Jake!” John said with a smile, turning to the page. “You know you don’t have to kneel to me. Rise already!”

Jake looked up over the tops of his glasses, smiled and straightened. He cleared his throat without delay and said importantly, “Prince John, I have come with a message!”

“No shit,” Dave muttered under his breath.

“King Jack has summoned you to the throne room. He says for you to greet him there, post haste!”

John sighed. “Is that all?” he asked, agitation in his voice. 

“Um, yes, I believe that’s the whole ball of wax….” Jake replied, trailing off and glancing down.

John sighed again and retrieved his ceremonial robes and hood without another word. The robes were simple, the fabric light blue; the hood was a deeper, darker blue and was almost twice as long as John was tall. On the chest was his houses’ sign, two sky blue wavy lines.

As he started to put on his robes over his tunic, Jake shifted from foot to foot awkwardly. Dave caught Jake’s eye and gestured with his head. Jake looked at him in confusion and Dave sighed. “Yo John, Jake’s still here.”

“Oh, right,” John piped up, turning around, his hood halfway on. “You’re free to go, Jake.”

Jake bowed and left, shutting the heavy wooden door behind him. John fixed his hood again then glanced at Dave, who heaved the door open for him.

John walked out of the room, his absurdly long hood sweeping behind him. Dave left the door open behind him and followed John, making sure not to step on his ridiculous hood. Not far down the hall, John’s second red-eyed knight waited for the pair. He was leaning against the wall, his arms crossed over his heavy chest plate. The difference between his armor and Dave’s was their House symbols. Where Dave’s was a gear, this Knight’s looked like a gash oozing three lines of blood. The padding beneath this knight’s armor was a dingy brown, his cloak a matching color. At his side was a sickle that looked as if it had seen its fair share of battles through the years and still had many years of fight left in it.

“Karkat!” John greeted with a wave as they approached.

Karkat glared at them, flaring his nostrils as a way of greeting. Dave glared at him, unamused. Dave nodded his head tersely at his fellow knight. “Sup,” he said, his voice holding no tone at all.

“Strider,” Karkat growled back, nodding his head.

Without any more words, the three continued their path to the throne room. Dave kept to John’s right, Karkat to his left. As they approached the throne room, two of the castle maids came hurrying out of the antechamber to the side of the throne room. The maids both had dark hair, one with long hair, the other with short. Though their dresses were the same, the long haired maid’s dress were the same color as Dave’s, even the gear insignia identical, while the other was wearing bright green and grey, and her symbol was similar to John’s, though it was bright green and turned ninety degrees. They started as they saw John and moved to the side of the hall, out of the small party’s way, their heads down respectfully.

The one in red ended up on the right of the hall. She looked up slightly as they passed and her maroon eye caught Dave’s scarlet one. The corner of Dave’s mouth twitched in something of a smile and he winked at her as he passed her. She smiled up at him as he did and she winked back. He gave her a thumb up as two guards opened the heavy wooden doors before John and his Knights.

The doors creaked open and the three’s steps echoed loudly in the cavernous hall. Sitting in the single throne on the other side of the hall was King Jack Noir. His skin was as black as ebony, his eyes just as dark. His face held enough scorn to fill the entire hall. Still a small distance from the stairs to the throne, the knights stopped and kneeled before the king. John walked forward up to a few feet from the stairs before he also stopped and kneeled before the king.

Jack rose slowly from his thrown, his fingers digging into the arms of the throne, his sharp nails tearing into the fabric of the throne. “What took you so long?” Jack asked, low and menacing.

“I came as soon as you called, your majesty,” John answered, addressing the stairs.

Jack stood for a second more, staring at John. Slowly, he sat back down on the plush chair. “Rise,” Jack said and John rose, though Karkat and Dave remained kneeling. Once John was on his feet again, Jack snapped his fingers and two figures came out of the shadows from either side of the throne. They stopped at the arms of the throne.

They wore the blessed robes of the Seers. They were women gifted with foresight, always tested and, if proven true, always in the king’s service. They had their hoods up, obstructing most of their faces. The one on the king’s right was dressed in robes shades of orange, a yellow sun emblem on her chest. The other was dressed in robes of green, her emblem a green disk with threw branches from it. Seemingly on cue, the two took their hoods and gently pushed them back from their faces.

The one in orange had short blond hair that barely reached her chin. It was kept neat and tidy on her head with a band that matched her robes. Her eyes were the color of lavender, her lips painted an onyx black. The other seer’s lips were also black, but whatever color her eyes were had been lost in the gray of the blindness that now plagued her. She had black hair that fell down to her shoulders.

The seer in green sniffed the air and turned her blind gaze toward Karkat. Feeling her eyes on him, Karkat glanced up and met her blind gaze. Her black lips spread in wide smile, showing many of her shining white teeth. Karkat’s eyes went wide and he quickly looked back down. She began cackling before she turned her face toward Dave, who looked up to nod at her. She cackled some more as she turned back to the king.

The one in orange had caught John’s eye, though he couldn’t turn to acknowledge her gaze. She smiled slightly, understanding. But out of the corner of his eye, he saw her nod to him with that gentle smile and John smiled himself, looking Jack’s feet.

Jack snapped and both of the women’s faces fell. The turned to the king as he said “Future seein' dames, tell these smucks what you've seen.”

The women glanced at each other for an instant. Both Dave and Karkat looked at the seers as John said, “Rose, Terezi, what is he talking about?”

Neither of the women answered at first. Then Terezi extended her hand and a green disk matching the one on her robe burst above her hand. “Far out onto the outskirts of this land,” Rose began, and the image in the disk shifting to illustrate her message. “There is a wood that is older than the castle we stand in by many centuries. Magic is so concentrated in those ancient woods that any creature living near it becomes possessed.”

“So, naturally,” Terezi said, picking up from Rose’s pause as if they had rehearsed it, “This is where you find the mages and witches and other magic users. They are usually loyal to the kingdom, so they are safe to stay and study their magicks.”

“However,” Rose started, the disk above Terezi’s hand shifting again, “there is one whom we have seen that will become a problem.”

The disk showed the face of a black-haired lass with an overbite and large circular glasses in front of bright green eyes. As they all watched, the disk zoomed out to show her in a witch’s dress. Dave couldn’t help but notice how it fit her form so well, showing off her generous curves. Transfixed as he was on the woman, however, his shock was even stronger than John’s or Karkat’s when they watched her, in a blinding flash of bright green light, change her shape into the one of a snowy white wolf. The wolf bound into the woods and the disk disappeared completely.

There was a deep silence that lasted a full three beats before Jack rose again. "Listen up runts," he said to the knights, "Bring the wolf broad back here pronto. Dead or alive. Doesn't matter to me if she's still kickin' or not by the time you drag her back here. Consider yourselves lucky," he told them as he swept down the stairs, past John, who was still stunned, and away to a door close by. "I’m givin' you the privileges of doin' the killins for my royal highness. Yer fuckin welcome, kids."

And with that, he swept out of the room, not even glancing back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The prompt, as given to me on the original site, writtenhomestuckrequests.tumblr.com, by Prospitsprincess (then Halfwritten-fairytale):
> 
> You should write a DaveJade fic in the medieval stuck AU. Where Jack Noir is king for now, John’s the Heir Apparent,Dave is John’s personal knight, and Dave’s been sent to bring Jade in to be burned, John doesn’t like the idea of killing anyone so when Dave gets back with this witch he’s fallen for (not that he’d ever admit it) John begs him not to and they devise a plan to kill Jack Noir, Make John King, and fluff ensues…


	2. The Meeting

Dave rested easily against the tree, the fire he and Karkat had made crackled at his feet. He wrapped his cloak tighter around himself as Karkat roasted the last of the venison over the flames. The wind picked up and Dave shivered. “Get over yourself, Strider,” Karkat commented, glancing up at his fellow knight over the meat.

“Fuck you, Vantas,” Dave muttered under his breath.

Karkat went back to his meat. An owl’s cry split the silence and both Karkat and Dave jumped up, their hands flying to their weapons. They stood still for an instant before they relaxed and sat back down, Dave’s cape whispering and Karkat’s armor clanking slightly. “I hate it out here,” Karkat grumbled to himself. “We’re too close to those woods that Terezi and Rose told us about.”

“Why, Vantas?” Dave said with a smirk. “Scared of the dark?”

“Fuck you Strider,” Karkat said tonelessly, like he’s said that same line a thousand times.

Dave shook his head and pulled his hood low over his eyes. He settled down further into his cloak, his eyes drifting closed, ready to sleep through Karkat’s watch when he heard the snap of a branch. His eyes popped open. He held his breath as he listened for movement around him. Karkat yawned and stared into the fire. Just as he was just about to close his eyes again, thinking it was simply the wood in the fire, he heard a snap again, this time from behind the tree he rested against.

He jolted, Karkat looking up at him again in confusion. Dave slowly brought his hands up and brushed his hood back. Karkat knew the look in Dave’s eyes well. Pretending to reach for the small pouch at his side, he loosened his sickle, his fingers slowly reaching for the handle. Dave, meanwhile, reached over and grasped the handle of his sword tightly. He rose silently while Karkat remained seated, shifting enough to provide cover for the small sounds that Dave made.

Dave slowly peaked around the trunk of the trees into the shadowy woods beyond. Just in the cover of the trees was a wolf the color of snow watching Karkat. It didn’t look threading to Dave, but there was something about it that unsettled him. He kept studying the wolf and noticed how it had an interested expression that showed immense intelligence in its green eyes. Wait, green eyes… He looked at those bright green eyes and recognition hit him. She was the witch!

He shifted again and began going around the other way. Karkat ignored him and kept messing around, his own cloak rusltling. Dave made his way around the entire tree without the wolf moving her eyes from Karkat. Dave unfastened his cloak and brought it in front of him. Just as he was ready to throw it and catch the wolf, Karkat swore and stood up, his armor ringing loudly in the night air, causing both the wolf and Dave to start for an instant.

Dave looked at Karkat in anger. What was he thinking?! But he saw that a bee was flying all around Karkat’s face. But it wasn’t just flying around his face, it was also flying into his face. Just as quickly as it had apparently came, the bee buzzed off to the side and when it was out of Karkat’s reach it stopped in midair. In total shock, Dave watched as blue and red lights seemed to spark all around it and a much larger shape unfolded from the bee’s form. In the span of a few seconds, the bee hand changed to a black-haired man with wide robes and teeth that seemed to be too large for his mouth. But what really caught Dave’s attention were his eyes. One was a bright red and the other a bright blue.

“Jade, behind you!” the new man yelled at the wolf. “It’th a trap!”

The wolf barked as Karkat lunged at the shape shifter, his sickle at the ready. The wolf turned her gaze and locked eyes with Dave for the smallest of instants. Dave felt a spark of something he couldn’t even begin to name that shivered through him in that small instant that their eyes found each other. The shape shifter cried out and the wolf turned its head back to the scene in the small camp.

The wolf let out a fearsome bark as it leapt out of the woods at Karkat, its muzzle showing all of its sharp, glowing teeth. Karkat managed to throw a lopsided backhand at it while tackling the shape changer. Dave ran out of the woods, dropping his cloak and drawing his sword. When he saw the wolf turn, ready to run, he dropped his sword and ran after it, grabbing Karkat’s cloak as he did so.

The wolf was ready to make a bound into the woods again but Dave managed to tackle it, twisting it up in Karkat’s cloak. At the same time, blue and red light started to crackle out of the shape shifter’s eyes just as the handle of Karkat’s sickle crashed into his temple. The lights flared, their hissings picking up angrily for an instant before, with a loud pop, the lights died all at once and the changeling fell to the dirt, unconscious.

The wolf under Dave roared before a great flash of green light engulfed it. Using his body as he was, he felt the metamorphosis that the wolf went under. In the time it took for Dave’s frantic heart to go from one beat to the next, the wolf had changed completely.

Dave froze as he took stock of what had happened to the wolf under him. In its place was now a young woman with round glasses in front of her green eyes that were locked on his. Hair the color of the night sky flowed around her in long, full rivets. Her front teeth were too large for her mouth and they stuck out ever so slightly from her bottom lip. The only factor that remained unchanged in her current form from her last was her ears, which were still snowy points atop her black covered head. But one fact was most insistent in Dave’s mind. Pinning her down as he was, Dave couldn’t help but noticed how slight her body was and how well-endowed her chest was as it was pressed to his.

They stared at one another for an instant before anger flooded her face and she began struggling in the cloak Dave had twisted her in. Dave quickly retaliated and was able to completely twist her in the cloak, making escape impossible no matter which form she took.

Once she was secure, Dave stood and loomed slightly over her. Looking down into her rage-filled eyes, Dave opened his mouth and decreed “By order of King Jack Noir, you are under arrest.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The prompt, as given to me on the original site, writtenhomestuckrequests.tumblr.com, by Prospitsprincess (then Halfwritten-fairytale):
> 
> You should write a DaveJade fic in the medieval stuck AU. Where Jack Noir is king for now, John’s the Heir Apparent,Dave is John’s personal knight, and Dave’s been sent to bring Jade in to be burned, John doesn’t like the idea of killing anyone so when Dave gets back with this witch he’s fallen for (not that he’d ever admit it) John begs him not to and they devise a plan to kill Jack Noir, Make John King, and fluff ensues…


	3. The Journey

The sun was beginning to set, the light disappearing over the horizon. The horses’ hoofs’ tapping lightly on the dirt road was the only sound that was between the four riders. Dave and Karkat rode between their two prisoners, both of which were on the back of the same near gigantic horse. Both of the knights led the middle horse with one of its reigns tied to each of the knights' saddle horns.

The prisoners were kept to the saddle by their legs, which were tied to the saddle and to each others’ legs. Their arms were bond behind their backs by their wrists and to finish off they were blindfolded. Both the mage’s and the witch’s faces were impassive, but the witch’s snowy white ears, which were pinned flat back against her head, gave their emotions.

No one spoke as the small party made its long way back to the castle. The knights had tried going faster than a walk, but after the mage fell off and was nearly trampled by the started large horse, the knights decided to keep their pace slow. The castle wasn’t going anywhere.

The horse in the middle does a small leap over a branch on the path and the mage hisses in pain. The witch’s ears twitch toward him and she turns her head toward him slightly. “Sollux, are you alright?” she asked gently.

“Of cour2e not!” Sollux hisses at her. “Thi2 damn hor2e broke my fucking face! And it almo2t killed me while it wa2 at it”

The witch’s face turned worried before she faced forward again. “Please,” she says to the knights, “may we take a break? My friend is in pain.”

“Jade, don’t bother,” Sollux said under his breath, tired and exasperated, as Karkat responded.

“If he hadn’t of struggled so much while the horse was moving, maybe his face would be fine,” he says to her, an echo of harshness in his voice.

Dave looked over and glared at him. She may have been a witch, he knew, but she was still a woman and was to be respected. He was just about to say something to him, but the witch beats him to it.

“Listen, jackass,” she snapped at him, making both knights turn to look at her, shocked, their eyebrows raised high. “You were the one who decided to go at a gallop while our hands were tied behind our backs. How the fuck did you think we were going to hold on anyway? The least you could do is stop and do something about his injuries!”

The horses came to a stop, just as Jade asked, while Karkat and Dave were distracted by Jade’s small but forceful speech. Karkat, Dave could tell by his face, was about to say something nasty in return, but Dave stopped him. “We’ve already stopped, Vantas. We might as well make camp here for the night.”

Karkat grumbled something as he dismounted, his armor rattling as he landed hard on the ground. Dave dismounted, his armor rattling just as loudly, but only after Karkat had grabbed the reigns of the large middle horse. Dave led the other horses to a nearby tree and secured them to it. Meanwhile Karkat worked on carefully undoing the prisoners' leg restraints. Both had resumed their impassive faces and didn’t move, even after their legs were unrestrained.

Karkat grabbed Sollux and drug him off the horse. Sollux hissed at him in anger and Jade growled at Karkat. Karkar, however, ignored them both and started to secure Sollux. Dave, meanwhile, came to the other side of the horse and lightly put his fingertips on Jade's forearm. Jade turned her face to him; he could almost see the glare she must have been giving him. “Milady,” he said gently, despite her look, reaching around to lightly put the fingertips of his other hand on her other arm.

"Are you going to drag me off this horse too?" she demanded.

"Of course not," he told her. He understand _why_ she would say that, but it didn't make it any less offensive to him. "You should dismount as normal as you can."

“My hands are bound and I can’t see,” she reminded him flatly.

“I will catch you, Lady Jade.”

She continued to glare at him for a second before she looked away and slid sideways onto Dave. He ached his chest toward her so that she didn’t have a long journey to fall. She plopped into his chest as he wrapped his arms around her softly. He wrapped one of his arms around her back, snaking around her middle, his other arm coming up to support her legs. He cradled her to his chest for a second as he turned away and gently set her down on a log that was acting like a bench.

“Are you alright, Lady Jade?” he asked as he bound her feet together as gently as he could to the log.

“I’d be better if my legs weren’t bound,” she answers flatly.

Dave sighed, slightly upset. He turned around and saw Karkat tying Sollux to a tree. As he watched, Sollux winched as Karkat tightened the bindings. “Vantas, you fucking retard,” Dave said angrily, walking over to the two. Karkat just looked at him, pausing in tying the knot around Sollux’s feet. “He’s not one of the horses, you shit stain.”

“Leave it, Strider,” Karkat said, going back to the knot.

Dave pushed Karkat, who fell to the road screaming. Dave ignored him as he easily undid Sollux’s restraints and walked him over to the log Jade was sitting on. He guided Sollux down to sit on the log with her. He bound his legs accordingly, mirroring Jade's. “Thank2, I gue22, but can you take off thi2 u2ele22 blindfold? I can’t 2ee even with it off.”

Dave paused for a second. Karkat, muttering profanities under his breath over the shove Dave had given him, as he tethered the last horse. Dave reached over and undid first Jade’s and then Sollux’s blindfolds. Jade glared at him, though she didn't seem to be able find his eyes. Dave reached into a pouch at his side and pulled out her glasses. He gently slid them onto place on her face. Her bright green eyes find his red ones easily and she could complete her glare up at him. Dave looked at her stoically before he turned to Sollux.

Dave grimaced as he looked at him. His face was practically black all over with all the bruises that the horse hooves have given him. He walked over to his horse and pulled out a small jar from one of the saddle bags. He walked back over to Sollux and opened the jar. An odd smell escaped the opened jar, causing all three to wrinkle their noses. Jade even sneezed and turned away. Dave scooped some of the ointment on his fingertips and start to lather it thickly on Sollux’s bruises.

Sollux flinched at first then relaxed as the ointment started to numb his face. Jade glanced back at him and her face relaxed into a worried mask, her ears drooping downward. She lightly bumped her forehead to his shoulder. It reminded Dave of a puppy trying to comfort someone. Dave’s face changed into a small smile at the gesture that she had given Sollux. But it dropped immediately as he heard Karkat start yelling again.

“What the fuck are you doing?!” he yells, stomping over to them. Jade’s glare returned and her ears pinned back again as Karkat continued to yell. “You have to blindfold that mismatched eyed mage! Don’t you remember what happened just a few nights ago?!”

“Will you calm down, you over excited fucker?” Dave said back, standing up to look Karkat in the eye. “Look at his face; he can barely open his eyes! Much less use them,” he added in a mutter as he knelt back down and applied more of the ointment.

Karkat threw up his hands in disgust as he walked off. “If he starts rampaging, it will be on your hands, Strider,” he called over his shoulder as he tromped into the woods.

Dave rolled his eyes as he puts the lid back on the jar. “I hope that helped, Mage Sollux,” he said as he stood back up.

“Yeah, a little, I gue22…” Sollux said as he slumpeds back onto the large tree behind him and Jade.

Jade also leaned back as the too knights began making camp. She looked up through the foliage above them and to the planets that had started to shine in the early evening sky. She gave the restraints around her wrists a testing tug, but found them as tight as ever. She sighed and leaned her head back.


	4. Escape?

The fire crackled low as Dave stood watch, Karkat asleep across from him. Their cloaks were wrapped around Sollux and Jade, who were also asleep. The fire popped loudly and Jade started awake. She glanced up at Dave through her lashes and just found him scribbling on a rough piece of parchment.

Her ears twitched at the sound of an animal rustling in the brush behind her. She turned her head, shifting her weight as she did, pretending to be moving in her sleep. Dave glanced up at her, and she froze, closing her eyes again. When she heard his charcoal stub start working on the parchment again, she cracked open her eyes and looked to the animal in the brush.

A pair of olive green eyes looked at her. Cat eyes, she believed, until they moved and a small woman emerged from the brush. She was so tiny she almost looked like a little girl. Her only distinction in her age was her noticeable curves and full lips. Her olive eyes did not leaving Jade's as she moved forward. “AC silently apurroaches her cattured furrends,” she said so softly not even Sollux could hear her.

“Nepeta!” Jade said silently under her breath.

Nepeta glanced at Dave and Karkat quickly before she silently moved around the tree, closer to Jade. Nepeta reached over and swiftly cut the bindings with her clawed glove. “Wait fur Roxy,” she whispered before she disappeared into the shadows again.

Jade looked over at Dave as he poked the fire with a stick, still from beneath her lashes. She saw a blond headed woman silently emerge from the brush behind Dave. Jade saw the distinctive curl in hair as this new woman put a blow dart gun to her lips and shot a dart at the back of Dave’s neck. He jumped as his hand went to his neck. But before his hand could find the dart sticking out of his neck, Roxy pulled on a thin string on the dart and yanked the dart back and out of his neck. So when his hand hit his neck, there was nothing there.

Dave rubbed his neck for a second and then poked the fire again. It was only a second later that he yawned and his eyes began to droop. In less than a minute after Roxy had shot him, Dave slumped over, out cold.

Jade brought her hands out from behind her and gently shook Sollux’s shoulders. “Sollux!” she hissed at him, glancing at Karkat. Roxy appeared again as Sollux started to grunt awake. Roxy fell to her knees and stuck another dart in Karkat’s neck. She fell to her back and rolled away as Karkat swat away at the empty air. As Roxy stood up and dusted herself off, Karkat was already snoring deeply.

Sollux woke up slowly. Nepeta sliced through his bindings as he was still shaking off sleep. Roxy came over and cut through the leather straps holding their legs. Sollux stood unsteadily while Jade got up and stretched her legs. Roxy walked over to the first horse and started to raid the bags. When she didn’t find anything, she walked over to the knights, starting to ruffle through their pockets. 

“Come on, Jade! Let’s get out of here befur they wake up!” Nepeta said urgently, grabbing Jade's hand and pulling her toward the horses.

Jade hesitated, looking back at Dave’s face. She thought he looked so peaceful, so relaxed in sleep. She had a flash of remembrance at his small smile after she had bumped Sollux with her forehead. And how he had moved Sollux after Karkat had tied him up too tight to a tree.

“No,” Jade says simply, slipping her hand out of Nepeta’s.

“What?” she asked, surprise filling her face.

“Roxy,” Jade continued, ignoring Nepeta. Roxy looked up at her, still riffling through Karkat’s stuff. “Put back everything you took off of them and the saddle bags.”

“WAT?!” she exclaimed, dropping the few items she had grabbed back into the pouch she had been pilfering.

“Put it all back,” Jade repeated.

“Why?!” she asked, standing up.

“Because I’m staying here and it will look suspicious if you take things from them and not me.”

“What did you ju2t 2ay?!” Sollux demanded, spinning around to look at her the best he could.

“I’m staying here, with them,” she said to him, gesturing toward the knights.

“Why?!” the three of them demanded in perfect unison.

Jade glanced at the knights again before she turned back and said “I think they were sent to us.”

A tense silence settled on the four of them. After a pause, Sollux stepped forward. “Even if they were, I doubt they can help u2 now.”

“I think I can convince them, Sollux,” Jade said gently. “I think I can turn it around.”

There was another beat of silence. “Then I’m 2taying too,” Sollux said.

“But! But Sollux!” Nepeta said, tugging on his arms. “Your eyes are in such purr shape! You need to get them healed as soon as pawsible!”

“It’2 okay, Nep,” Sollux said softly, stepping over to Jade. “I can’t leave her by her2elf. I’m going too 2tay too.”

The two rouges looked at each other for a moment. They turned back to the pair and nodded. Magical folk, they told themselves. They didn't understand, but they've learned not to ask too many questions. They gently tied up Jade and Sollux again before Roxy begrudgingly put back everything she took. They gave their bound magical friends one last look before they melted into the shadows and disappeared. Leaving them alone with the knights once again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The prompt, as given to me on the original site, writtenhomestuckrequests.tumblr.com, by Prospitsprincess (then Halfwritten-fairytale):
> 
> You should write a DaveJade fic in the medieval stuck AU. Where Jack Noir is king for now, John’s the Heir Apparent,Dave is John’s personal knight, and Dave’s been sent to bring Jade in to be burned, John doesn’t like the idea of killing anyone so when Dave gets back with this witch he’s fallen for (not that he’d ever admit it) John begs him not to and they devise a plan to kill Jack Noir, Make John King, and fluff ensues…


	5. Back at the Castle

The bright orb was the only light in the room. Seer Rose held it while John gazed attentively into it. He watched as Dave and Karkat tied Jade and Sollux back to the horses. They left the pair un-blindfolded this time and the knights mounted their horses before they took off down the path again at a slow trot. John sighed, waving his hand, and the light died within the orb. She hid it in her robe as John slouched and put his head in his hands.

“Give it faith, Lord John,” Rose said as she lightly placed her hand on the back of one of his. “I foresee this path as the best, after all.”

John sighed again before he said, “Just call me John. And I trust you, Rose, but I still worry about them. And I know what we have to do, but it still doesn’t exactly sit right with me.”

“John, do I need to remind you that they are both talented fighters trained under the Knights of Skaia? I do not think I have to explain how much this speaks in their favor.”

John couldn’t agree more as he looked into her lavender eyes. The Knights of Skaia were the most proficient and deadly organization of Knights who only trained those whom they deemed worthy. Even John had been denied; his station meant next to nothing to them. Skaian-trained knights were the only knights trusted enough to protect royalty around the entire world. They were the only Guards able to do the near-impossible task of protecting their charges, so loyal and well-trained were they. The honor of Skaian training held more weight than the titles of Prince or Heir, and they were treated like or better than nobles, though the knights always kept their place. The born royals treated them like family.

John sighed yet again. “I know, Rose, I know! But I’m not worried about what _they_ have to do. I’m worried about what _I_ have to do. How is it any better than what Jack is doing?”

“That’s like asking the difference between what the executioner does to the convicted killer and what the convict did to his victim,” said a new voice from behind them.

They both turned to see Terezi standing in the doorway behind John. Her lips were twisted into a coy grin as she blindly stared at the two. She gave a few good sniffs in the air before she approached them as John countered with, “But what if they are both wrong and neither should be killed?”

“What the killer did was wrong,” she stated in return. “What the executioner did was JUST1C3! The killer paid for his crimes with his blood!” she finished before cackling lightly.

“You remind me of that witch Dave and Karkat are bringing back,” John said absently.

His comment made Terezi’s laughter regress to chuckles. “Wrong kind of magic, John,” she said as she fluttered her fingers at him, causing small green lights to flicker around her hand.

John only stared, unimpressed. Terezi laughed under her breath again while Rose stood, John quickly jumping up after her. “Well, Lor-” she stopped and started over quickly. “Well… John. You should return to your chambers. You have tarried here long enough.”

“Yes,” Terezi agreed, her face serious. “So long that I’ve had to come get you. You need to leave before King Jack starts to wonder and get paranoid.” She finished as she walked out the door she had just came from, turning the corner and quickly disappearing out of sight.

John turned back to Rose and gently took one of her hands. He locked his eyes on hers as he lifted the back of her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles lightly. “Thank you for your time, Seer Rose,” he said softly.

Rose smiled slightly as she replied, “You are most welcome, Lord John.”

His smile grew as he dropped her hand and exited after Terezi, closing the thick wooden door behind him. As he walked out of the Seer’s Quarters, someone called his name from a different corridor. He rolled his eyes, glad he was in his servant clothes, and just kept walking. He didn’t stop for anything or anyone until he reached his room.

Bolting the lock behind him, he let his mind wander as he walked across his lavish room to the balcony doors on the other side. He threw them open and walked to the edge of the terrace outside. He leaned heavily on the railing as he looked over the castle, the ceaseless winds pulling gently at his shirt.

From his high vantage point, he could see nearly the entire castle and even some of the surrounding forests. He straightened when he heard a light click and glanced back to see the two knights that had replaced Dave and Karkat come to station themselves at each side of the doorway.

But John just turned back to the scene before him, trying to forget the knights behind him.

As he looked at the leaves dancing in the wind, he thought back to the day that Dave and Karkat had left, and all of the irons had been tossed into the fire…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The prompt, as given to me on the original site, writtenhomestuckrequests.tumblr.com, by Prospitsprincess (then Halfwritten-fairytale):
> 
> You should write a DaveJade fic in the medieval stuck AU. Where Jack Noir is king for now, John’s the Heir Apparent,Dave is John’s personal knight, and Dave’s been sent to bring Jade in to be burned, John doesn’t like the idea of killing anyone so when Dave gets back with this witch he’s fallen for (not that he’d ever admit it) John begs him not to and they devise a plan to kill Jack Noir, Make John King, and fluff ensues…


	6. The Plan

Dave and Karkat didn’t speak as they readied themselves for the long journey ahead. They packed all of their meager belongings into leather pouches that easily fit onto their backs. They were adjusting their armor when the door to their barracks swung open. If anyone else but Dave and Karkat glanced at the person in the doorway, they would have just thought that it was just another servant. But the glasses and the all-too-mischievous blue eyes were a dead giveaway.

“Back among the common folk, I see, Egbert,” Karkat barked as he continued his work and John ran into their room and slammed the door behind him.

“What are you doing here in that getup anyway, man?” Dave asked.

John didn’t answer at first, listening at the door. When he turned around, both the knights were looking at him impatiently. Karkat also looked mildly irritated. “The seers wanna talk to you guys before you go,” John stated simply.

The knights rolled their eyes and both threw their small bags over their shoulders. They followed the unusually worried-looking heir out of the barracks farther into the castle. The knights assumed their usual positions on either side of him. John glanced behind him, stopped, and flailed his arms regally at them. “Stop!” heloudly stage-whispered.

“What the ever loving fuck is your problem, Egbert?” Karkat demanded just before Dave punched his arm, metal clanking against metal loudly.

“You guys can’t flank me like that!” John said as Karkat smirked and Dave pretended his fist didn’t ache from colliding with the metal on Karkat’s arm. “I’m in disguise, _remember_? I can’t have you two following me like that! It ruins everything!” And without another word, he spun around and started walking again in a huff.

Perplexed, Dave and Karkat just watched him leave before glancing at each other quickly, then followed after John. This time, Dave walked in front of Karkat, making a sort of line. After a few minutes of silence and turning down an empty hallway, John said, “I hate the new knights that King Jack assigned to me.”

“They Skaian-trained?” Dave asked absently.

“No.”

“You’re just going to have to live with them, Egbert,” Karkat said.

“Fuckface has it right for once, man,” Dave concurred. Karkat growled at him, glaring at the back of his head as he continued. “Even though they’ll never be as awesome as me, you’re going to have to just deal with it for now. Deal with that shit like your best deck of cards. This is poker night, baby, and you’ve got tons of dough but you’re always betting your reputation. Don’t fuck up your poker face.”

John stopped looked at him, his face unamused. “That was weak man,” he said before he continued on his way. “Anyway, I know that I have to deal with them. But I don’t see why you guys have to go at all. I mean, why couldn’t he just send some other knights? Why mine? And I don’t like the thought of you guys going out to kill someone for no good reason. I mean, what did she do anyway?”

“Magic,” Karkat stated bluntly.

“People do magic all the time around here,” Dave pointed out. “Lalonde and Pyrope do nothing but magic shit up and abuse their frilly voodoo on innocent dudes in the bathroom.”

“I know they do, ass fucker,” Karkat snapped. “This dog-witch we’re going after obviously does a different sort of magic that poses a threat to the kingdom!”

“I’m not so sure she’s a threat to the king _dom_ , so much as something else,” John said quietly.

“Or some _one_ ,” Dave affirmed.

By this time, the small party had reached the seers’ quarters. Though they were built to house six comfortably, there were usually only one or two seers there at a time. The seers owned these quarters completely, able to arrange the spaces as they saw fit. It was easy to distinguish how the space was split between the two current residents.

To the east side was a quiet place of contemplation. It spoke of elegance and serenity. Any thoughts of speech were quickly left at the threshold of this place; the need for silence was such that felt it was almost tangible. They almost felt the need to hold their breaths, so serious was the nature of this place, but for the light sent of lavender, which alleviated the sense of unwelcome into one of beckoning; almost asking guests to enter and relax. Lush rugs deadened the sound of their approach and softened the cold stone floor it hid. Octopus-inspired designs in the rugs swirled around their feet, threatening to wrap around them and bring them down into the depths of their dark lairs. The furnishings in this side of the seer’s quarters matched the rugs, heavily inspired by the nautical monsters of the carpet beneath them. Paintings of places far from the castle in secluded places of Windenshade dotted the walls. On the doors were the paintings of bright and elaborate suns.

To the west was a different story; it looked as if it had been vandalized. Poorly rendered figures in many different colors covered the walls, along with large splashes of color outside of any distinguishable pattern. Some of the lines on the drawings and even in and around the splotches looked smeared, as if they had been partially wiped off before they had dried. The colors themselves didn’t seem to hold any kind of scheme, unlike the colors on the other side of the room. Some went together, but mostly they seemed to clash. All of the colors were in bright hues, and bright red was prevalent. Those who gazed upon the chaos of colors would wonder what meanings lay within their depths. What visions had inspired the blind prophet to make such marks upon every available square inch of space? John and Karkat were no exception, and both stared at the walls in quiet awe. A particularly bright crimson splatter that depicted a shape like a silhouette in its center especially caught their eyes.

Dave, however, didn’t stop to admire the walls and drawings like the other two did. He kept walking, determinedly ignoring it all. But as he passed the red blotch with the profile in it, both the heir and the Blood Knight saw how his shadow aligned perfectly with the shape in the stain.

Both of them started laughing, which caused the Time Knight to stop and glare at them in irritation. John doubled over from his mirth, needing a hand to steady him one of the defaced walls. Karkat snickered still as he said, “Hey, Strider, how bad is the mess left after being caught in one of the seer’s mindless color spasms, hmmm?”

“I’d say it’s less messy than the spasms she gives you at night,” Dave quickly retorted before dropping his hand in front of his crotch, wrapping his fingers around the air in front of it and flicking his wrist a few times.

Karkat turned a shade of red so deep it made Dave’s cape look pink in comparison. “Y-you fucking… you perverted, sick… peeping…!” he stuttered, “I swear to god, Strider… This shitty mission’s gonna be extra fucking perilous… I could vaporize the skin clean off your bones with my fury you…” The half-formed threats started to run together unintelligibly as they all tried to come out of his mouth at once. John’s laughter was so loud and demanding that he lowered himself to the floor and laughed there, holding his sides, so that both he and Karkat were practically choking. Dave smirked as he saw the spittle start to gather in the corner of Karkat’s mouth.

A new laughter joined John’s, but this one seemed more like cackling than John’s breathy guffaws. Dave turned to see both of the seers in the communal hallway. Terezi was the one cackling away with John. Rose caught Dave’s eye and raised an eyebrow at him. Dave shrugged and went over to help John pick himself off the floor. Karkat, noticing the ladies, was reduced to mumbling angrily as he stared at the floor. Though John’s laughter subsided, Terezi kept up her cackling until her too-accurate nose pointed her eyes to Dave’sface. “Hey, Sir Knight!” she called excitedly.

“Sup,” he replied casually. He deliberately clanged his armor as he walked over to her, loudly announcing his approach to her. She cackled softly as he did this, an old joke between the two. Her cackling didn’t subside even after Dave wrapped his arms around her.

She returned the hug eagerly. Dave smirked when he heard Karkat’s huff, his breath buzzing like a swarm of angry wasps between his teeth. Dave tightened his grip on her and his smirk deepened as he heard Karkat start to growl insults under his breath again.

Dave felt a small touch on his arm and released Terezi to look over at the orange-robed seer. Motioning for the others to follow her, she led them all down the hall to the chamber in the back to which it led, one that was neither graffiti’d or furnished in any way.

At the end of the passageway was a tabernacle backed with wood, almost like the doors at the entrance of the castle. Painted on the shallow alcove was a green-skinned angel garbed in a black robe trimmed in white lace, stockings as white as her wings, her shoes lime green to match the swirls on her cheeks. Her eyes were closed, her hood up, a dark gray sash securing her robe and flying around her. Her hands were extended down to her sides, the palms forward, as if she was welcoming them. A small smile was playing at her lips, green fangs overlapping the lips.

“Who’s that?” Karkat demanded as they stepped forward.

“The Great Muse of Space, Calliope,” both Rose and Terezi said as they stepped forward.

Both the seers extended a hand and placed their palms on each of Calliope’s outstretched ones. A soft flash of yellow swam around Rose’s hand, a green one around Terezi’s. Calliope’s eyes flashed open as if the light had struck two lime green gems. There was a crack, followed by a crease forming right down the middle of Calliope’s face, traveling all the way up to the top of the arch down to the floor. Silently, the crease folded outwardand opened into a tall circular room.

The seers swept into the room, quickly followed by the knights and the heir. The ladies shut the door, which sealed itself once again. They were plunged into total darkness only for an instant before a light slowly built in the center of the room. It’s source, a crystal ball setting on the center of a round table. “Really?”Karkat asked, sarcasm dripping off his every syllable. “You couldn’t find anything more cliché in the props department than a crystal ball? You have some tarot cards hidden somewhere?”

“The crystal ball helps me see,” Rose replied simply, walking along the wall, Terezi walking around the other way.

Halfway to the back of the room, the two stopped and revealed two heavily curtained windows and allowed sunlight to flow into the room. The men flinched, having missed the curtains in the dark room, their color the same as the walls around them. While the Heir watched Seer Rose, both knights saw Terezi staring with wide, unseeing eyes at the sun that was shining happily down on her face, which was blank. Karkat was the one that walked forward to her first, stopping only a foot from her.

“What does it look like?” she asked him softly.

“Bright,” he whispered gruffly, biting down on his sarcasm, though his eyes stayed on her. “And kind of yellowish.”

The corner of her lips twitched, failing to smile. “I just saw white,” she said, her eyes still turned unblinking to the light she could never see again.

They remained staring for an instant, and he almost touched her shoulder before she turned around and joined Rose at the small altar to Calliope at the end of the room. There, the muse’s face was painted into a soft expression as she regarded the party. The seers looked up into her lime eyes and then turned back to the other three, who were still gazing up at Muse Calliope.

“We brought you here for more than to admire the artwork,” Rose said.

“This place is very sacred,” Terezi explained.

“So much so that only seer magic can reveal the seraph’s arcane entrance.”

“And it’s made so that no one can hear the secrets of the seers unless they are in the room with us,” Terezi finished, licking her lips.

“So you have secrets to tell us,” Karkat stated.

“No shit, Sir Obvious,” Dave muttered to Karkat in a nearly silent aside.

Karkat growled at Dave, ready to retort, but was cut off by Terezi. “We do. In Windenshade’s best interest, we are telling you a secret about the witch you are hunting.”

“What about her?” the three men said in unison.

“She is the catalyst for Windenshade’s salvation,” Rose stated bluntly.

“You are to capture her and act as though you are bringing her back to burned,” Terezi said as the two seers folded their hands in front of themselves.

“The king shall be monitoring you—”

“So you must act as if this is your purpose—”

“But a time will come when the king will no longer be able to watch you follow her spoor—”

“And when that time comes you will escape with the witch—”

“She will know the machination.”

“Meanwhile, John, Rose and I will also watch your journey.”

“And we will in turn watch the king.”

“And when the time is right—”

“We will K1LL TH3 K1NG,” they finished together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The prompt, as given to me on the original site, writtenhomestuckrequests.tumblr.com, by Prospitsprincess (then Halfwritten-fairytale):
> 
> You should write a DaveJade fic in the medieval stuck AU. Where Jack Noir is king for now, John’s the Heir Apparent,Dave is John’s personal knight, and Dave’s been sent to bring Jade in to be burned, John doesn’t like the idea of killing anyone so when Dave gets back with this witch he’s fallen for (not that he’d ever admit it) John begs him not to and they devise a plan to kill Jack Noir, Make John King, and fluff ensues…


	7. Finalization

The party just stared at the seers, frozen with shock. “Kill the king?” John whispered into the tomb silence around them.

“Yes,” the seers stated simply.

“Are you FUCKING CRAZY?!” Karkat screeched. “YOU CAN’T KILL THE FUCKING KING. HE’S THE GODDAMN KING!”

“Settle down, Karkles,” Terezi said with a smile, using the pet name in an attempt to quiet him. Karkat glared at her, but it had the intended effect. “We are seers, the best tacticians in all of Skaia! With the two of us there’s no way we can fail!”

“Indeed, but perhaps some explaining is in order,” Rose said gently.

“You think?” Dave retorted.

“Calliope has shown us that Jack is a cancer for Windenshade,” Rose began.

“He is an 1NJUST1C3 to the land—” Terezi said

“And he will destroy all of Skaia if he goes unchecked.”

“Together, with the help and guidance of the Space Muse–”

“And our Goddesses of Light and Mind—”

“We have devised a plan that follows the best vortices with the brightest outcome.”

“But we have to kill him?” John demanded. “Why can’t we just, I don’t know, exile him or something? Get him off the throne?”

“We looked into those possibilities, Lord John,” Rose said gently.

“And all of them failed,” Terezi finished.

“This is truly the only way for us to succeed,” they said.

“But—!”

“John, you can’t argue with them,” Dave said over him. “They know what the hell they’re fucking talking about.” He looked back at them, his face holding small traces of shock, though worry was the dominate emotion. “Are you two going to be alright here as you plan to assassinate the king?”

“You know, I’m going to be here planning to kill the king too, Dave,” John interjected, though Dave ignored him, still staring at the seers.

“We have chosen the most successful and least dangerous path, Dave,” Rose said gently.

“Don’t sweat it, Sir Knight!” Terezi said with a smile.

“We will be the unseen puppeteers, pulling the strings to orchestrate the downfall of the king.”

“You two are still fucking nuts,” Karkat finally blurted out. “Besides, what the hell did King Jack do anyway? You can’t kill him, he’s the fucking king!”

“As you have already mentioned,” Rose said.

Terezi huffed. “Look, Karkat, I get it that you think you still owe him or whatever but, come on! He slaughtered all those servants!”

“How do you know they hadn’t done anything wrong?” Karkat demanded, but his voice was noticeably quieter. He was losing ground, even to himself.

Everyone glared at him and he dropped his gaze momentarily. “Okay, he fucked up big time… but doesn’t he deserve a second chance?” he pleaded in crescendo.

“Karkat,” Terezi said gently, taking a step toward him. “You need to see what he really is. Don’t let your gratitude blind you to that!”

He shuffled his feet around and didn’t respond. Terezi kept her uncharacteristically serious face toward him while Rose informed Dave of the witch’s location. Once Rose started to lead the way back out of the seer’s chambers, Terezi grabbed Karkat’s wrist, stopping him. She waved away the others and Rose led the other men out into her own half of the seer’s quarters, promising refreshments to the pair.

Once the doors sealed again, Terezi still had his wrist in her hand, and he was still faced away from her, toward the door Rose, John and Dave had just exited. “Karkat…” she said gently. “Karkat, I know this is hard for you.”

When he didn’t respond, she sighed. She dropped his arm, which fell limply to his side, before she took another step and wrapped her arms around him. He tensed, surprised. “It’s okay, Karkat,” she whispered to him. “It’s okay to be uncertain, or scared about what’s to come.”

Karkat incrementally relaxed in her grip as the seconds ticked by. After a minute, he turned around and returned her embrace, being careful not to hurt her with the many steel plates on his body. They stood this way for a few beats before he grasped her shoulders and took a step back. “Okay,” he finally acquiesced. “But Terezi… he’s done so much for me….”

“And you have repaid him a hundred fold!” she said confidently. “You don’t owe him anymore, Karkat! And the things that Rose and I have seen…” she shivered and he flexed his fingers on her shoulders, wanting to hold her again. “It’s not good, Karkat. Not good at all.”

Karkat looked down into her unseeing eyes. His eyes wandered from there to her nose that was more her eyes than her actual eyes were. Down to her full lips and he thought of the lick-happy tongue that they concealed. A blush started as he thought of that tongue and Terezi sniffed curiously. “Why do I smell cherries?” she asked slowly.

Karkat turned around quickly, his face flushing more. “It’s fucking boiling in here, that’s why. This armor doesn’t allow for much air flow, you know. No wonder I’m a goddamn lobster. Can we go now? I want to get this mission over with already.”

Terezi cocked her head to the side, facing him. Her face became puzzled to the extent that her lips twisted almost into an unnatural state, vaguely reminiscent o fa question mark. But she shrugged and walked past him to the door, opening it once again. On the other side, Rose and John were enjoying a glass of tea while Dave was mimicking them daintily with a bottle of juice and chowing down on some sweets.

Dave took one look at Karkat and rose to his feet. Dave said his goodbyes to everyone, as did Karkat, though the Blood Knight’s were much more subdued. The knights made their way to the stables. Once their bags and supplies were secure, the two mounted up and rode off.

John, from his perch up on the balcony, watched as his two knights, his two best friends, rode off without him. He glanced behind him at the two new knights and sighed. He already hated this. The breeze teased at his hair, pulling his attention back out; he looked to the sky and at the clouds that gently sailed along.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The prompt, as given to me on the original site, writtenhomestuckrequests.tumblr.com, by Prospitsprincess (then Halfwritten-fairytale):
> 
> You should write a DaveJade fic in the medieval stuck AU. Where Jack Noir is king for now, John’s the Heir Apparent,Dave is John’s personal knight, and Dave’s been sent to bring Jade in to be burned, John doesn’t like the idea of killing anyone so when Dave gets back with this witch he’s fallen for (not that he’d ever admit it) John begs him not to and they devise a plan to kill Jack Noir, Make John King, and fluff ensues…


	8. Long Night

The morning after Roxy and Nepeta had tried to free Jade and Sollux, Karkat discovered Dave asleep on his watch and the pair began the day with a rousing shouting match until an hour past sunrise, at which point they finally gave up and readied for the next leg of their trek. After breakfast, which they had to feed to their charges, they helped the two mount up and bound them to the horse again, but they didn’t bother with the blindfolds. Unlike the previous day, when the horses briskly cantered, they rode at a slow trot as to not to have another fiasco such as the one Sollux experienced.

Jade took advantage of this and spoke to the knights cheerfully, as if it were a leisurely ride. Karkat mainly didn’t reply, unless he was inspired with some witty profanity. Dave, however, spoke to her freely, answering all of her questions to the best of his abilities. Sollux remained silent, for the most part, though he sometimes made his own snide remarks at Dave’s answers, which earned appreciative snickers from Karkat.

The days passed as the knights brought their charges in. After a week of travel, Karkat started to talk to Jade more, claiming he was getting tired of Dave’s extended metaphors. The stupidity of which, he said, was directly related to their length. Respectively, Sollux began to say more than just sardonic asides to Jade. Sollux especially liked to jab at Karkat, but he was surprised at Karkat’s own quick wit. The arguments between the two trolls generally ended on good terms and they agreed to not talk about it anymore, much to Dave and Jade’s amusement.

The evenings changed as well with the growing familiarity. The knights gave the mage and the witch their own bed mats, though Sollux didn’t accept at first. Laying down on it for the first time was enough for him to shut up, however. Jade gladly took the mat, deciding it was the fruit of her charisma. Their legs and hands remained tied, but their spines were grateful for the change.

A few nights after the captives claimed the mats, Karkat woke gently from sleep, his last exchange with Terezi heavy on his mind. God, he missed her. He was slouched down still, leaning against a tree. Not the most comfortable way to sleep, but the most vigilant one. Not having moved since he awoke, he was able to glance at Dave surreptitiously. Dave was staring at something very intently and when Karkat followed his gaze, he found the witch’s face.

She slept soundly for someone whose legs and hands were bound. She slept on the mat Dave had brought, her face turned away from the Blood knight. Her long black hair was lying in tendrils behind her, fanning out like seaweed, in soft waves. As Karkat silently watched, Dave reached out a hesitant armored hand and gently brushed a few of those black wisps out of her face. Karkat imagined Dave would have tucked the strands behind her ear, had she had normal human ears instead of the bestial ones atop her head.

“That far gone on her, are you?” Karkat asked bitingly as he straightened his back.

Dave started and his eyes jumped to Karkat’s, muted red eyes glaring into shining crimson. “Hardly your place to judge, is it not?” Dave retorted just as harshly.

“I am a magnificent, brimming CAULDRON of romantic knowledge compared to your cracked shot glass,” Karkat reminded him.

“Look man, your own shitty love life says that you have even less to say on the goddamn subject than I fucking do.”

Karkat hissed as he said, “Leave my personal love life out of this, shitstain!”

“Your personal love life _is_ this thing, jackass,” Dave spit back. “It’s entrenched in this shit. You’ve been jonesin for Terezi since day one when Jack brought you to the castle ten years ago.”

“What about you?” Karkat shot back, rising to his feet. “You’re about as red for her as I am!”

Dave laughed, infuriating Karkat further, making little bits of spittle gather in the corner of his mouth. “Dude, that was ages ago. Get up to _date_ , like yeah, we tried that. And it didn’t fucking work because we are obviously born to be pale. I mean like, three years dungeon pale. As pale as you can get without going full vanilla milkshake. I can’t even think about Terezi like that anymore. She’s like the buzzsaw-toothed sister I never had.”

Karkat paused after Dave’s tirade was over. The seconds dragged on as Karkat glared down at Dave, the Time knight looking up calmly to the simmering Blood knight. “Lies,” Karkat finally decides. “If that were the case, you wouldn’t always fucking be around her in your every goddamn free moment.”

“Holy shit, you are out of your fucking mind,” Dave says, his palm hitting his face lightly. “Pale dude,” he says, slowly, trying to emphasize it to him. “Best friends for life. Of course I fucking hang out with her all the time. We are the raddest pair of bros to ever walk this scene, what do you expect?”

Karkat’s anger, already starting to die, just stared wide eyed as Dave continued. “Trust me, if I was totally red with her I would be rubbing it in your face. Because you deserve it for being such a massive tool.” Karkat hissed halfheartedly at Dave, sitting back down, as Dave went on with “But we are not performing your gross ass troll mating rituals because we. Are. Friends you thicko.”

Silence settled over them. After a minute of only the sounds of the night and cracking wood in the fire between them, Karkat shifted and went to get his armor. Dave, watching him suit up, began removing his own armor. When Karkat was fully armored again, Dave was fully unarmored. Still without any words, Dave settled down to sleep while Karkat sat back down, ready for his watch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The prompt, as given to me on the original site, writtenhomestuckrequests.tumblr.com, by Prospitsprincess (then Halfwritten-fairytale):
> 
> You should write a DaveJade fic in the medieval stuck AU. Where Jack Noir is king for now, John’s the Heir Apparent,Dave is John’s personal knight, and Dave’s been sent to bring Jade in to be burned, John doesn’t like the idea of killing anyone so when Dave gets back with this witch he’s fallen for (not that he’d ever admit it) John begs him not to and they devise a plan to kill Jack Noir, Make John King, and fluff ensues…


	9. Dallas

The place Dave took them to was none other than his very own house. 

House Time was adorned with tones of red on the stone walls, the curtains, and the plush carpet under their feet. Jade, never having walked on carpet before, was reminded of the mossy glades she found in her forests. The moss made the same hushed sigh under her feet as the fibers of the floor. They walked in a single file line: Dave leading; Jade trailing along after him; Sollux behind her, his head hung low with exhaustion; and Karkat took up the rear, his ever-present scowl more pronounced than usual.

Jade watched as a transformation came over Dave as he led them into the esteemed Windenshade House of Time. He had always been so relaxed, so carefree, like any other common citizen. But now, he seemed to carry with him an air of nobility and responsibility. He held his head high and his back was straight. He looked… more like a knight, she finally decided. With a start, she realized the only other time he looked and reminded him of a knight was when he arrested her. All the time in between he could have been just an everyday foot solider. Here, there was no mistaking his rank.

Servants in uniforms of red matching the fabrics of the house rushed ecstatically to the Time Knight, their greetings tumbling eagerly from there. For the most part, they ignored the two prisoners, their hands still bound behind them, and the Blood Knight, only throwing the three questioning or curious looks.

As they entered the grand foyer, the staff became hushed, though they still crowded around the knight. Dave was smiling slightly at all of them as they approached the grand staircase at the far end of the room. “David,” a musical, feminine voice said quietly but clearly above the hushed voices of the gathered staff.

Dave stopped and the servants all hushed at once, glancing at the source of the voice before they all wandered away from Dave— back to their duties, Jade assumed. She looked to the voice as the crowd dispersed. Standing at the top of the stairs was a regal woman draped in the same sanguine colors Jade had seen throughout the house. The woman had such beauty and noble bearing to her that it pierced Jade’s heart like the sharp point of Lady Macbeth’s dagger. She smiled loftily at Dave as she glided down the stairs to him.

She looked young, Jade thought. Jade sniffed the air in her direction as she approached. She caught a whiff of fine perfumes and oils, but not enough to overpower the small amount of magic that lingered on her skin. At the familiar ethereal smell, Jade’s ears perked up and her body tensed. Though she could smell it, she couldn’t hear it. Jade relaxed as the woman drew closer and Jade could quickly closely inspect her.

“David,” she said splendidly again as she opened her arms to him.

“Lady Time,” Dave said in the same rich tone as he accepted her embrace with good grace.

“Now now, Dave,” she chided him gently. “I told you before. None of that ‘Lady Time’ business.”

“And I told _you_ , none of this ‘David’ crap,” Dave reminded her.

She laughed lightly, wind chimes in a soft breeze. “I suppose you did.” She turned her gaze to Jade, bright red eyes meeting equally vibrant green. “Dave, who are your guests?” she asked lightly. “And why are their hands bound?” she added as a demand.

“Caitlin, I told you when we came through the first time that the king had ordered me to arrest the dog-witch girl,” Dave said, a tad harsher than before, matching her demanding tone. But still different than the tone Jade was used to hearing from him. “How did you think I was bringing her back?”

“Has the girl or her companion given any signs of escape?”

“Well—”

“Have they tried to cast any spells on you?”

“No, but—”

“Have either of them made any move of animosity of any kind toward you or your fellow knight?”

“Well, no, but-“

“Then I see no reason to have the two bound,” Lady Caitlin finished. She looked over to a guard standing by the entryway door. “Charles, release these two.”

With a small acquiescence, the guard came over and unbound the nodding Sollux and then Jade while both the knights stuttered, Karkat held back by other guards, Dave sputtering to Lady Caitlin. “Caitlin! You cannot be serious. The king wants them and I _have_ to bring them to him.”

“And so you will. But I don’t see the point of having them having them tied up here.” Her eyes fell on Jade’s. “You’ll be good and not try to escape, won’t you?”

As Jade locked gazes with Lady Caitlin again, an unspoken threat jumped to Jade’s mind. The smell of magic then flooded her nose. She felt the hum of it then, its dull press on her mind. Jade quickly countered, her eyes flashing. But the lady’s magic was unlike anything that Jade had ever encountered. The lady flicked Jade’s defenses away with a smirk, exerting as much effort as one does swatting at a fly. Fear shot through Jade, winding like a viper into the pit of her stomach, biting and writhing. 

“Trying to escape would be a bad idea,” Caitlin said gently, but Jade felt the threat, the malice, behind that calm voice. “You won’t try to escape, now, will you?”

“No, I won’t,” Jade answered; her voice was level, but her eyes were intense.

“You see?” Lady Caitlin said to Dave, breaking the connection, “She’ll be good. Why don’t you show her to the guestrooms in the west wing? Be sure to give her one with a good view of the gardens.” And with that, she glided away from them.

Dave and Karkat could only stare: Dave incredulously, Karkat muttering profanities under his breath. With an aggravated sigh, Dave stalked off in the direction of the grand staircase, not even bothering to motion them along. Jade ran lightly after Dave, but not before taking Sollux’s hand and leading him.

After they mounted the staircase, Karkat cleared his throat. “Look, if you’re taking her to a sunny room, that’s fine or some shit, but I think Sollux needs some dark room so he can heal his broken face.”

Jade started as she was shocked, again, only now at Karkat’s voice. It wasn’t the bitingly sarcastic tone in his voice. And he’s mannerism didn’t imply that he hated everything about you just on sight. His stance was straight and proud, his back straight instead of slouched. Again, she was reminded he was actually a knight. And a royal knight at that!

But maybe not quite of the quality of the knight that Dave reminded her of. The knight Dave reminded her of was the stuff of fairytales….

Dave gave a simple nod and Karkat gently took Sollux by the wrist and led him away, in the opposite direction. Dave kept going, sulking in his previous direction. Jade followed, and once she was sure that Caitlin was far enough away, she reached out her mind and examined the magic again. She found Caitlin, and as quietly as she could, Jade let her mind fall into the magic that surrounded the lady.

Ah, she thought as she looked at it more closely. While the hum was loud and the scent strong at the time, she now saw what Caitlin did was common trickery, not any real magic. One of the perfumes… she recognized the smell of Calliope’s Bane, a common herb that messed with and disrupted space oriented magicks. Of course she could overpower Jade easily. But Jade also noted how the Lady was completely unaware she was there. If Jade threw any magic of any substance at Caitlin, Caitlin would crumple like a dried leaf. All show.

Jade sighed softly in relief, knowing nothing real was keeping her here. She decided she would enjoy herself then, and began surveying the halls Dave led her down, her curiosity returning in force.

It was just so… _red_. Even the art and the tapestries on the walls had mostly ruby hues within them. It was almost too monochromatic for Jade’s liking. There was a whole _rainbow_ of colors outside of red. Being from the forest, she saw mostly greens, granted, but there were so many other colors out there with the birds and insects among the greens.

Even so, she couldn’t deny the beauty of it all. The soft velvet under her feet made not only her leather footfalls silent but Dave’s metallic steps were also greatly muffled by the plush fabric. The tapestries were woven with such skill made Jade wonder if she was really seeing a still image or looking through a window. Paintings depicted the most heartbreaking of sunsets over the city, making it almost look like it was on fire. Portraits of Lords and Ladies and Knights past stared at her, their crimson eyes following her path with looks of pride, determination, nobility, sacrifice, and once with great melancholy.

Her wondering eyes fell upon a door up the corridor just as a brightly colored light flashed beneath it. As she watched, she saw different colored lights flicker from the small opening. Perking her ears up, she heard the distinct hum of magic radiating from the room. Intrigued, she waited until Dave passed the doorway, which he ignored, and stopped. Dave kept on walking, oblivious, and Jade knocked on the door softly.

The lights stopped at once. Jade’s quick ears heard light footsteps as someone, a woman by her guess, walk over. She opened the door easily, despite the weight and locked eyes with Jade.

Jade knew instantly she was a witch. Her clothes, scent and the distinct hum of magic that hung around her gave her away immediately. The witch had flowing midnight hair that was trying to be bound back by a pair of chopsticks. The chopsticks, however, were losing the battle and already great tendrils of that wild hair had slipped out, falling around her face, tumbling over her shoulders and back. She was clothed in the standard red of the house, though her style was a little more like Jade’s than the Lady Caitlin’s had been.

The witch smiled gently. “Good afternoon,” she said pleasantly. “What can I do for you?”

“Well,” Jade said, uncertainty lacing through her. “I saw the lights and I thought I heard magic. I was wondering –”

“Oh, are you curious about magic?” the scarlet-clad witch asked sweetly. “Well come in, come in,” she said as she ushered Jade in.

Once the Time witch closed the door behind Jade, she scurried over behind a pot as tall as Dave was. Jade gaped at the pot somewhat as the ruddy colored witch came back over with a ray of a tea set for two in one hand and two chairs hooked with magic to her other. She cleared off a spot on the nearest table and set the tea down before arranging the chairs accordingly.

She gestures to the seat opposite that she takes as she pours the tea. Unsure of what to think, Jade hesitantly took a seat. The witch handed her a cup while she poured the other. “So tell me, how long have you been interested in magic?” the red witch asked conversationally as she stirred sugar into her tea.

“No, listen,” Jade said quickly, putting the cup in the table. “I’m not merely interested in magic. It’s my life! I’m a witch, after all. Like you!”

The Time witch froze, staring at Jade. An evil grin split her face, making Jade shiver. The time witch threw her cup over her shoulder and leaned in fast and close to Jade. Jade backed up instinctually, but remained seated. “You’re a witch too, eh?” the Time witch said excitedly. She stuck her nose on Jade’s neck and inhaled deeply, making Jade shiver in disgust. “I should have known by the smell…”

“Okay!” Jade said quickly, jumping up. The Time witch watched her with intense eyes. Jade put her hands up as she said “Boundaries, okay?”

“Forget those!” the witch responded as she jumped up and came at Jade. She backed Jade up on the wall, hitting her palms on either side of Jade’s head, trapping her. “I haven’t been fucked by another witch. It should be _magical!_ ” she said the last word intensely.

“Ew!” Jade yelled, pushing her magic between herself and the witch. The witch flew back, landing with a thud in front of the cauldron.

“Now we’re talking!” the Time witch yelled, jumping to her feet. She pulled out two different chopsticks and pointed them eagerly at Jade.

Green lightning arched from Jade’s outstretched palm and crashed into the other witch. The red witch fell to her knees, shuddering and convulsing. Jade held still until the scarlet witch stilled on the floor. “Please don’t do that again,” Jade said simply.

The second witch coughed and unsteadily sat up. “Whoa….” she said just before she fell down again. “Wow.” She sat up again and looked at Jade. “Wow,” she says again. “Where’d you learn to do that shit?”

Jade shrugged, her shoulders still stiff, ready to attack again. She watched vigorously as the witch got to her feet again. The Time witch held her hands up as she said, “Easy there, I’ll back off.”

Jade lowered her hands, but kept at the ready, not trusting her.

After a moment of awkward silence, the second witch sighed. She walked forward, slowly, and extended one hand. “My name’s Damara, by the way. Damara Megido, Witch of House Time.”

Jade waited an instant before she shook Damara’s hand. She felt a slight shiver run up her arm that she beat back. She narrowed her eyes at Damara, color tracing across Damara’s cheeks as she muttered a “sorry” for the errant magic. “Jade Harley,” Jade said evenly.

Damara keeps a tight hold on Jade’s hand and leaned in close as she pulled Jade closer. “But just think about what it would be like if you just ate me out right here, right now. Or I ate you out. We’d be able to pump more magic into each other and increase our pleasure.”

“ _I SAID NO!_ ” Jade screeched, the fur on her ears standing straight up, zapping Damara again.

Damara dropped Jade’s hand at once and wobbled back. She held her head like she was going to faint again, but shook it off. She looked up at Jade, her maroon eyes petulant.

Damara opened her mouth to say something else but was interrupted by a faint buzzing in the air. Both she and Jade froze, recognizing the familiar hum of released magic. They glanced at each other and something passed behind Damara’s eyes.

“That was your friend, wasn’t it?” she asked directly. “The one with the broken face.”

“Wait, how do you know about Sollux’s face?”

“I read your mind.” She wove her hand away like she was swatting a fly away at Jade’s angry look. “That’s what that magic was that shot up your arm, but that’s not important. The important thing is that he needs healing. You much of a healer?”

“Well, I can be. But shouldn’t you already know this if you read my mind?”

“I didn’t see much. Just the mage with a broken face. I’ve been told that reading minds of innocent bystanders is rude. Anyway, what do mean ‘you can be?’ And what happened to his face anyway? Bad end of a lover’s quarrel?”

“What is it with you? _And_ when I have everything I need, I’m a pretty good healer. And it’s because that asshole Karkat let a horse trample his face!”

Damara threw her head back and laughed. “Shit, really? Lord English above, that is awesome.”

Jade glared at her, but Damara waved it away again. “Maybe not for your friend, but it sounds funny as hell. Anyway, even if you can heal, can you fix his face?”

“I’m sure I could,” Jade said confidently.

“He looks like he’s in bad shape and not getting any better,” Damara stressed.

“If I had the right stuff. And my book…”

“What do you need?”

Jade thought of a simple but powerful healing remedy, and listed off mostly easy to get herbs and tinctures. Damara narrowed her eyes at the simple list. She crossed her arms as she asked “How long as his face been like that? A couple of days?”

“Um,” Jade thought about it for a second. How long ago was it when they were nabbed? “A week or so?” That sounded about right. “It happened the morning after we were grabbed.”

Damara grimaced. “Are you sure that simple cough syrup you wanna cook up is gonna be enough?”

Jade sighed. “No, not really,” she conceded. “But that’s the best thing I can remember without my book.”

“You realize magic is at work, right? He is fucked up. And not the kind of fucked up we should be,” she smiled at Jade again, who flipped her off. Damara wagged her eyebrows at her until Jade released a loud green spark between them. Damara glared at her and continued. “He’s fucked up beyond the physical bounds, anyway. It’s the reason it hasn’t gotten any better. I’ve seen something like this before. You’re lucky that it’s only a physical injury. I’ve seen a mental one. It ain’t pretty. Anyway, the one on your friend, usually it shouldn’t look like that. Especially for a Doom mage. Don’t you know a good healer? Like a real healer. You seem too…” she gestured vaguely at Jade, “spacy.”

Jade sighed. “Yeah, I’m a space witch. And well,” she turned around to glance at the doorway, finding it still closed. She leaned in close. “I do know of someone. A Life witch named Feferi Peixes.”

Damara nodded. “Just make sure you don’t run into the other Peixes. She’s a bitch and I’m sworn to kill her the next time I see her. Or fuck her brains out. Anyway, I know Feferi. She didn’t sleep with me either,” she said pointedly at Jade, earning her a glare. Damara shrugged. “You know how to get to her?”

Jade nodded. She glanced at the door again. “I was thinking about making Dave take me to her…”

Damara snorted. “Good luck with that.”

“What?” Jade demanded.

“That tight-ass? Right. Yeah. Okay.” Sarcasm dripped off her every syllable. “He won’t fuck me either.”

Jade stared at her, disgusted. “Seriously, what the _fuck_ is with you? Anyway, he seemed pretty nice when he wasn’t being an ass on the whole kidnapping me thing.”

Damara shrugged. “Well then maybe you can change him and get him to drop that cod piece, sweetheart,” she said with another wicked grin.

Jade’s face turned the same color as Damara’s clothes. “Fucking stop that!” she demanded.

Damara chuckled. “Never.”

Jade just put her face in her hands and groaned. Damara guffawed lightly again. “Anyway, your warden is standing outside the door, so let’s give him something to look at, shall we?”

“Huh?” Jade started as Damara walks over to a wall lined with jars. Jade glanced at the door to see Dave reclining against the door jam, just watching the two of them.

More heat raced across Jade’s cheeks and she glared at Damara. “ _I told you I’m not having sex with you!_ ” she whispered urgently at Damara as she scurried over to her.

Damara sighed and started to take down some jars. “I meant to do magic, not each other,” she said simply. “You can help me out with that, right?”

Jade glanced at Dave and then sighed. “Sure.”

“And then we can have sex,” Damara said pleasantly, earning her another green zap from Jade.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The prompt, as given to me on the original site, writtenhomestuckrequests.tumblr.com, by Prospitsprincess (then Halfwritten-fairytale):
> 
> You should write a DaveJade fic in the medieval stuck AU. Where Jack Noir is king for now, John’s the Heir Apparent,Dave is John’s personal knight, and Dave’s been sent to bring Jade in to be burned, John doesn’t like the idea of killing anyone so when Dave gets back with this witch he’s fallen for (not that he’d ever admit it) John begs him not to and they devise a plan to kill Jack Noir, Make John King, and fluff ensues…


	10. House Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The prompt, as given to me on the original site, writtenhomestuckrequests.tumblr.com, by Prospitsprincess (then Halfwritten-fairytale):
> 
> You should write a DaveJade fic in the medieval stuck AU. Where Jack Noir is king for now, John’s the Heir Apparent,Dave is John’s personal knight, and Dave’s been sent to bring Jade in to be burned, John doesn’t like the idea of killing anyone so when Dave gets back with this witch he’s fallen for (not that he’d ever admit it) John begs him not to and they devise a plan to kill Jack Noir, Make John King, and fluff ensues…

The place Dave took them to was none other than his very own house. 

House Time was adorned with tones of red on the stone walls, the curtains, and the plush carpet under their feet. Jade, never having walked on carpet before, was reminded of the mossy glades she found in her forests. The moss made the same hushed sigh under her feet as the fibers of the floor. They walked in a single file line: Dave leading; Jade trailing along after him; Sollux behind her, his head hung low with exhaustion; and Karkat took up the rear, his ever-present scowl more pronounced than usual.

Jade watched as a transformation came over Dave as he led them into the esteemed Windenshade House of Time. He had always been so relaxed, so carefree, like any other common citizen. But now, he seemed to carry with him an air of nobility and responsibility. He held his head high and his back was straight. He looked… more like a knight, she finally decided. With a start, she realized the only other time he looked and reminded him of a knight was when he arrested her. All the time in between he could have been just an everyday foot solider. Here, there was no mistaking his rank.

Servants in uniforms of red matching the fabrics of the house rushed ecstatically to the Time Knight, their greetings tumbling eagerly from there. For the most part, they ignored the two prisoners, their hands still bound behind them, and the Blood Knight, only throwing the three questioning or curious looks.

As they entered the grand foyer, the staff became hushed, though they still crowded around the knight. Dave was smiling slightly at all of them as they approached the grand staircase at the far end of the room. “David,” a musical, feminine voice said quietly but clearly above the hushed voices of the gathered staff.

Dave stopped and the servants all hushed at once, glancing at the source of the voice before they all wandered away from Dave— back to their duties, Jade assumed. She looked to the voice as the crowd dispersed. Standing at the top of the stairs was a regal woman draped in the same sanguine colors Jade had seen throughout the house. The woman had such beauty and noble bearing to her that it pierced Jade’s heart like the sharp point of Lady Macbeth’s dagger. She smiled loftily at Dave as she glided down the stairs to him.

She looked young, Jade thought. Jade sniffed the air in her direction as she approached. She caught a whiff of fine perfumes and oils, but not enough to overpower the small amount of magic that lingered on her skin. At the familiar ethereal smell, Jade’s ears perked up and her body tensed. Though she could smell it, she couldn’t hear it. Jade relaxed as the woman drew closer and Jade could quickly closely inspect her.

“David,” she said splendidly again as she opened her arms to him.

“Lady Time,” Dave said in the same rich tone as he accepted her embrace with good grace.

“Now now, Dave,” she chided him gently. “I told you before. None of that ‘Lady Time’ business.”

“And I told _you_ , none of this ‘David’ crap,” Dave reminded her.

She laughed lightly, wind chimes in a soft breeze. “I suppose you did.” She turned her gaze to Jade, bright red eyes meeting equally vibrant green. “Dave, who are your guests?” she asked lightly. “And why are their hands bound?” she added as a demand.

“Caitlin, I told you when we came through the first time that the king had ordered me to arrest the dog-witch girl,” Dave said, a tad harsher than before, matching her demanding tone. But still different than the tone Jade was used to hearing from him. “How did you think I was bringing her back?”

“Has the girl or her companion given any signs of escape?”

“Well—”

“Have they tried to cast any spells on you?”

“No, but—”

“Have either of them made any move of animosity of any kind toward you or your fellow knight?”

“Well, no, but-“

“Then I see no reason to have the two bound,” Lady Caitlin finished. She looked over to a guard standing by the entryway door. “Charles, release these two.”

With a small acquiescence, the guard came over and unbound the nodding Sollux and then Jade while both the knights stuttered, Karkat held back by other guards, Dave sputtering to Lady Caitlin. “Caitlin! You can _not_ be serious. The king wants them and I _have_ to bring them to him.”

“And so you will. But I don’t see the point of having them having them tied up here.” Her eyes fell on Jade’s. “You’ll be good and not try to escape, won’t you?”

As Jade locked gazes with Lady Caitlin again, an unspoken threat jumped to Jade’s mind. The smell of magic then flooded her nose. She felt the hum of it then, its dull press on her mind. Jade quickly countered, her eyes flashing. But the lady’s magic was unlike anything that Jade had ever encountered. The lady flicked Jade’s defenses away with a smirk, exerting as much effort as one does swatting at a fly. Fear shot through Jade, winding like a viper into the pit of her stomach, biting and writhing. 

“Trying to escape would be a bad idea,” Caitlin said gently, but Jade felt the threat, the malice, behind that calm voice. “You won’t try to escape, now, will you?”

“No, I won’t,” Jade answered; her voice was level, but her eyes were intense.

“You see?” Lady Caitlin said to Dave, breaking the connection, “She’ll be good. Why don’t you show her to the guestrooms in the west wing? Be sure to give her one with a good view of the gardens.” And with that, she glided away from them.

Dave and Karkat could only stare: Dave incredulously, Karkat muttering profanities under his breath. With an aggravated sigh, Dave stalked off in the direction of the grand staircase, not even bothering to motion them along. Jade ran lightly after Dave, but not before taking Sollux’s hand and leading him.

After they mounted the staircase, Karkat cleared his throat. “Look, if you’re taking her to a sunny room, that’s fine or some shit, but I think Sollux needs some dark room so he can heal his broken face.”

Jade started as she was shocked, again, only now at Karkat’s voice. It wasn’t the bitingly sarcastic tone in his voice. And he’s mannerism didn’t imply that he hated everything about you just on sight. His stance was straight and proud, his back straight instead of slouched. Again, she was reminded he was actually a knight. And a royal knight at that!

But maybe not quite of the quality of the knight that Dave reminded her of. The knight Dave reminded her of was the stuff of fairytales….

Dave gave a simple nod and Karkat gently took Sollux by the wrist and led him away, in the opposite direction. Dave kept going, sulking in his previous direction. Jade followed, and once she was sure that Caitlin was far enough away, she reached out her mind and examined the magic again. She found Caitlin, and as quietly as she could, Jade let her mind fall into the magic that surrounded the lady.

Ah, she thought as she looked at it more closely. While the hum was loud and the scent strong at the time, she now saw what Caitlin did was common trickery, not any real magic. One of the perfumes… she recognized the smell of Calliope’s Bane, a common herb that messed with and disrupted space oriented magicks. Of course she could overpower Jade easily. But Jade also noted how the Lady was completely unaware she was there. If Jade threw any magic of any substance at Caitlin, Caitlin would crumple like a dried leaf. All show.

Jade sighed softly in relief, knowing nothing real was keeping her here. She decided she would enjoy herself then, and began surveying the halls Dave led her down, her curiosity returning in force.

It was just so… _red_. Even the art and the tapestries on the walls had mostly ruby hues within them. It was almost too monochromatic for Jade’s liking. There was a whole _rainbow_ of colors outside of red. Being from the forest, she saw mostly greens, granted, but there were so many other colors out there with the birds and insects among the greens.

Even so, she couldn’t deny the beauty of it all. The soft velvet under her feet made not only her leather footfalls silent but Dave’s metallic steps were also greatly muffled by the plush fabric. The tapestries were woven with such skill made Jade wonder if she was really seeing a still image or looking through a window. Paintings depicted the most heartbreaking of sunsets over the city, making it almost look like it was on fire. Portraits of Lords and Ladies and Knights past stared at her, their crimson eyes following her path with looks of pride, determination, nobility, sacrifice, and once with great melancholy.

Her wondering eyes fell upon a door up the corridor just as a brightly colored light flashed beneath it. As she watched, she saw different colored lights flicker from the small opening. Perking her ears up, she heard the distinct hum of magic radiating from the room. Intrigued, she waited until Dave passed the doorway, which he ignored, and stopped. Dave kept on walking, oblivious, and Jade knocked on the door softly.

The lights stopped at once. Jade’s quick ears heard light footsteps as someone, a woman by her guess, walk over. She opened the door easily, despite the weight and locked eyes with Jade.

Jade knew instantly she was a witch. Her clothes, scent and the distinct hum of magic that hung around her gave her away immediately. The witch had flowing midnight hair that was trying to be bound back by a pair of chopsticks. The chopsticks, however, were losing the battle and already great tendrils of that wild hair had slipped out, falling around her face, tumbling over her shoulders and back. She was clothed in the standard red of the house, though her style was a little more like Jade’s than the Lady Caitlin’s had been.

The witch smiled gently. “Good afternoon,” she said pleasantly. “What can I do for you?”

“Well,” Jade said, uncertainty lacing through her. “I saw the lights and I thought I heard magic. I was wondering –”

“Oh, are you curious about magic?” the scarlet-clad witch asked sweetly. “Well come in, come in,” she said as she ushered Jade in.

Once the Time witch closed the door behind Jade, she scurried over behind a pot as tall as Dave was. Jade gaped at the pot somewhat as the ruddy colored witch came back over with a ray of a tea set for two in one hand and two chairs hooked with magic to her other. She cleared off a spot on the nearest table and set the tea down before arranging the chairs accordingly.

She gestures to the seat opposite that she takes as she pours the tea. Unsure of what to think, Jade hesitantly took a seat. The witch handed her a cup while she poured the other. “So tell me, how long have you been interested in magic?” the red witch asked conversationally as she stirred sugar into her tea.

“No, listen,” Jade said quickly, putting the cup in the table. “I’m not merely interested in magic. It’s my life! I’m a witch, after all. Like you!”

The Time witch froze, staring at Jade. An evil grin split her face, making Jade shiver. The time witch threw her cup over her shoulder and leaned in fast and close to Jade. Jade backed up instinctually, but remained seated. “You’re a witch too, eh?” the Time witch said excitedly. She stuck her nose on Jade’s neck and inhaled deeply, making Jade shiver in disgust. “I should have known by the smell…”

“Okay!” Jade said quickly, jumping up. The Time witch watched her with intense eyes. Jade put her hands up as she said “Boundaries, okay?”

“Forget those!” the witch responded as she jumped up and came at Jade. She backed Jade up on the wall, hitting her palms on either side of Jade’s head, trapping her. “I haven’t been fucked by another witch. It should be _magical!_ ” she said the last word intensely.

“Ew!” Jade yelled, pushing her magic between herself and the witch. The witch flew back, landing with a thud in front of the cauldron.

“Now we’re talking!” the Time witch yelled, jumping to her feet. She pulled out two different chopsticks and pointed them eagerly at Jade.

Green lightning arched from Jade’s outstretched palm and crashed into the other witch. The red witch fell to her knees, shuddering and convulsing. Jade held still until the scarlet witch stilled on the floor. “Please don’t do that again,” Jade said simply.

The second witch coughed and unsteadily sat up. “Whoa….” she said just before she fell down again. “Wow.” She sat up again and looked at Jade. “Wow,” she says again. “Where’d you learn to do that shit?”

Jade shrugged, her shoulders still stiff, ready to attack again. She watched vigorously as the witch got to her feet again. The Time witch held her hands up as she said, “Easy there, I’ll back off.”

Jade lowered her hands, but kept at the ready, not trusting her.

After a moment of awkward silence, the second witch sighed. She walked forward, slowly, and extended one hand. “My name’s Damara, by the way. Damara Megido, Witch of House Time.”

Jade waited an instant before she shook Damara’s hand. She felt a slight shiver run up her arm that she beat back. She narrowed her eyes at Damara, color tracing across Damara’s cheeks as she muttered a “sorry” for the errant magic. “Jade Harley,” Jade said evenly.

Damara keeps a tight hold on Jade’s hand and leaned in close as she pulled Jade closer. “But just think about what it would be like if you just ate me out right here, right now. Or I ate you out. We’d be able to pump more magic into each other and increase our pleasure.”

“ _I SAID NO!_ ” Jade screeched, the fur on her ears standing straight up, zapping Damara again.

Damara dropped Jade’s hand at once and wobbled back. She held her head like she was going to faint again, but shook it off. She looked up at Jade, her maroon eyes petulant.

Damara opened her mouth to say something else but was interrupted by a faint buzzing in the air. Both she and Jade froze, recognizing the familiar hum of released magic. They glanced at each other and something passed behind Damara’s eyes.

“That was your friend, wasn’t it?” she asked directly. “The one with the broken face.”

“Wait, how do you know about Sollux’s face?”

“I read your mind.” She wove her hand away like she was swatting a fly away at Jade’s angry look. “That’s what that magic was that shot up your arm, but that’s not important. The important thing is that he needs healing. You much of a healer?”

“Well, I can be. But shouldn’t you already know this if you read my mind?”

“I didn’t see much. Just the mage with a broken face. I’ve been told that reading minds of innocent bystanders is rude. Anyway, what do mean ‘you can be?’ And what happened to his face anyway? Bad end of a lover’s quarrel?”

“What is it with you? _And_ when I have everything I need, I’m a pretty good healer. And it’s because that asshole Karkat let a horse trample his face!”

Damara threw her head back and laughed. “Shit, really? Lord English above, that is awesome.”

Jade glared at her, but Damara waved it away again. “Maybe not for your friend, but it sounds funny as hell. Anyway, even if you can heal, can you fix his face?”

“I’m sure I could,” Jade said confidently.

“He looks like he’s in bad shape and not getting any better,” Damara stressed.

“If I had the right stuff. And my book…”

“What do you need?”

Jade thought of a simple but powerful healing remedy, and listed off mostly easy to get herbs and tinctures. Damara narrowed her eyes at the simple list. She crossed her arms as she asked “How long as his face been like that? A couple of days?”

“Um,” Jade thought about it for a second. How long ago was it when they were nabbed? “A week or so?” That sounded about right. “It happened the morning after we were grabbed.”

Damara grimaced. “Are you sure that simple cough syrup you wanna cook up is gonna be enough?”

Jade sighed. “No, not really,” she conceded. “But that’s the best thing I can remember without my book.”

“You realize magic is at work, right? He is fucked up. And not the kind of fucked up we should be,” she smiled at Jade again, who flipped her off. Damara wagged her eyebrows at her until Jade released a loud green spark between them. Damara glared at her and continued. “He’s fucked up beyond the physical bounds, anyway. It’s the reason it hasn’t gotten any better. I’ve seen something like this before. You’re lucky that it’s only a physical injury. I’ve seen a mental one. It ain’t pretty. Anyway, the one on your friend, usually it shouldn’t look like that. Especially for a Doom mage. Don’t you know a good healer? Like a real healer. You seem too…” she gestured vaguely at Jade, “spacy.”

Jade sighed. “Yeah, I’m a space witch. And well,” she turned around to glance at the doorway, finding it still closed. She leaned in close. “I do know of someone. A Life witch named Feferi Peixes.”

Damara nodded. “Just make sure you don’t run into the other Peixes. She’s a bitch and I’m sworn to kill her the next time I see her. Or fuck her brains out. Anyway, I know Feferi. She didn’t sleep with me either,” she said pointedly at Jade, earning her a glare. Damara shrugged. “You know how to get to her?”

Jade nodded. She glanced at the door again. “I was thinking about making Dave take me to her…”

Damara snorted. “Good luck with that.”

“What?” Jade demanded.

“That tight-ass? Right. Yeah. Okay.” Sarcasm dripped off her every syllable. “He won’t fuck me either.”

Jade stared at her, disgusted. “Seriously, what the _fuck_ is with you? Anyway, he seemed pretty nice when he wasn’t being an ass on the whole kidnapping me thing.”

Damara shrugged. “Well then maybe you can change him and get him to drop that cod piece, sweetheart,” she said with another wicked grin.

Jade’s face turned the same color as Damara’s clothes. “Fucking stop that!” she demanded.

Damara chuckled. “Never.”

Jade just put her face in her hands and groaned. Damara guffawed lightly again. “Anyway, your warden is standing outside the door, so let’s give him something to look at, shall we?”

“Huh?” Jade started as Damara walks over to a wall lined with jars. Jade glanced at the door to see Dave reclining against the door jam, just watching the two of them.

More heat raced across Jade’s cheeks and she glared at Damara. “ _I told you I’m not having sex with you!_ ” she whispered urgently at Damara as she scurried over to her.

Damara sighed and started to take down some jars. “I meant to do magic, not each other,” she said simply. “You can help me out with that, right?”

Jade glanced at Dave and then sighed. “Sure.”

“And then we can have sex,” Damara said pleasantly, earning her another green zap from Jade.


	11. Princes and Seamstresses

The room was white, much to Jade's relief, instead of the red she had come to expect. The room was in a corner tower, overlooking the great, walled, and well-kept gardens of House Time of Windenshade. The west wall had two great looming windows, as well as a bay window between them. These windows showed her the greenery five stories below. The south windows were overlooking the cul-de-sac which hosted the palace and several manors. The center was wide enough to hold a small park. 

Jade lounged on the sill of the bay window as she gazed across the gardens below her. The view was stunning, she had to admit, but her eyes didn't want to focus on it as her head rested on the glass. Her thoughts were elsewhere in the castle. They trailed after the knight that had left her. They hovered in a corner of the dark room in which Sollux huddled, trying to heal his face. They lingered in the air of Damara’s potion chamber, alongside with magic residue from the two witches’ work.

Jade sighed, closing her eyes. Though her thoughts reluctantly abandoned Damara and Sollux, they only gathered on Dave. What was it about him that made him a focus point for her ever-wandering thoughts? His courtly manner when in court, or his odd, blunt speech in any other setting? Was it the music he didn’t know she had caught him making? Or his vivid eyes that lit up when he laughed even as they were obstructed by his bangs? Perhaps it was simply the way he carried himself or the way he--

The sound of blaring trumpets interrupted her thoughts. She jerked away from the window and looked over the gardens, pinpointing the noise. From the window, she saw not only the gardens but the magnificent front gates, shaped like an intricate gear that split down the middle. She saw the gates swing open, and a company of black Dersites marched in.

The Dersites all looked the same to her. Their ebony skin shone in the bright afternoon sunlight as they marched with a kind of pageantry. There was elegance to their formation, their practiced steps.

Jade was in quiet awe as she watched them, mesmerized. The ranks began with a handful of foot soldiers, followed by mounted units. Behind these proud riders came a purple palanquin she recognized.

The prince was coming here?

The soldiers parted, creating room for the servants bearing the royal litter. Even these movements were graceful yet angular, like the opening of a fan.

From her window, Jade saw Lady Caitlin walk out to greet the prince. She also was accompanied by a contingent of guards and knights. Jade tried to look for Dave within their ranks, but found him, along with Karkat, flanking Caitlin.

She felt the hush of magic as a spell tingled on her right ear, causing her to flick her ear. The spell, in essence, was far different than Sollux's dark touch, but not totally unfamiliar. _Damara_ , she thought, pushing the musty influence away slightly. Damara didn't _have_ to be so far in her ear. _What do you want?_ Jade asked, sending her own magic out to answer the Time witch.

 _Watching the show, I hope?_ came Damara's voice in her ear. _Your sexy knight is on the front lines._

Damara's particular influence caused Jade's imagination to conjure up a mental image of that sexy knight, making a blush flash across Jade's face. Embarrassed and slightly disgusted with her thoughts, Jade flicked her own magic out and dispersed Damara's spell.

Back down at the House's entrance, she saw a green-clad Skaian Knight with odd, red glasses perched on her nose open the curtains for the prince. He stepped down with good grace and a nod at his knight. Jade liked the way the prince held himself. She had never actually seen royalty, but it seemed to her that The Dersite Prince embodied everything she had ever heard about royals. All regal stoicism with a kind of outer melancholy or perhaps gentleness that was hard to see unless you looked _really_ hard.

Not that she was looking that hard, or anything. Not staring intently or enraptured at all.

The green knight smiled happily at Karkat and Dave. As they turned to look up at Calliope-only-knew, Jade finally caught a good look at them. Even though she knew she shouldn't have been, Jade was shocked to see that the knight was a woman! A woman no bigger than Lady Caitlin at that!

With a graceful wave of her hand and a curtsy, Caitlin led the prince into the house, followed by the three knights, the green one smiling hugely with her arms across both men's shoulders.

Once they disappeared out of sight, Jade gently reached out with her mind to find this group, curious about the new guests. Just as she had found Dave's already perhaps too familiar thoughts, a quick and demanding knock came at the door.

Startled, Jade dropped the spell as she stuttered a surprised, "Yes?"

A maid came scurrying in without further instructions, holding the door open for yet another maid, this one bearing many different dresses in an assortment of colors and materials.

"Mistress?" the first maid said.

"Um, yes?" Jade repeated, uncertain.

"Lady Caitlin wishes for you to join her and the prince this evening for dinner. As it will be a formal event, the Lady has brought you a selection of fine dresses to choose from. Lady Vanessa will adjust the dress as needed," she announced, stepping aside with a bob of her head and a wave of her hand towards the door.

Through it, as if she had practiced it, came a slender redhead in a sky blue gown, upon which the emblem of Breath was beaded. Jade shook off her surprise and stood proudly, yet respectfully, as the Lady entered. The Lady smiled at Jade as she waved the maids away. Without hesitation, Lady Vanessa tapped her chin in thought as she appraised Jade. She circled around her once, _hmm_ 'ing and _haw_ 'ing. 

Jade’s nose twitched as she registered the scent of magic on the stranger’s skin, unique though it was from Damara’s and Caitlin’s. Her heartbeat quickened and her muscles tensed. "What are you doing?" Jade demanded after Lady Vanessa's first rotation. Under evaluation, she felt threatened, as well as self-conscious. The scent of magic on Lady Vanessa's skin didn't help, though she didn't know if it was more trickery like Caitlin used or true magic.

"I'm simply judging what would look the best on you and what you would be most comfortable in," Lady Vanessa said easily.

"Oh," Jade said lamely, twisting the hem of her sleeve in her hands.

Lady Vanessa noticed and thought for a second. The she lightly slapped her forehead with a smile as she said, "Oh, where are my manners!" She took a few steps toward Jade with her hand extended. "My name is Vanessa Summers of House Breath."

"How do you do, Lady Summers," Jade said quietly as she took Lady Vanessa's hand.

"Ooh!" she said with a wave of her hand, like she was swatting away an irksome fly. "None of that 'Lady' business, if you will. Just call me Ness."

"Ness, then," Jade said with a genuine smile.

Ness gave her another smile and glance over Jade's clothes before she walked over to the pile of gowns the maids had left. Ness shifted through them before pulling out a few black ensembles.

Then magic filled her nose and ears. But it wasn't the Time magic Caitlin or Damara used, nor Sollux's doom magic. She quickly realized that the scent on Ness had gotten exponentially stronger, as well as added a sound to the smell. Jade blinked as the air shifted and the dresses Ness had pulled from the pile were then suspended in air. Once Ness was done pulling dresses from the pile, she assessed the ones in the air, as if it was nothing out of the ordinary.

"Calliope's great green ass, is everyone in this place magical?!" Jade exclaimed.

"Pretty much," Ness said as she kept looking over the dresses. "But as I said, I'm not actually from this house." She turned and smiled at Jade. "Don't you know about my house?"

"Only that the heir to the kingdom is from it."

"Yeah, but all direct descendants of the house have mastery over the air and weather."

"Direct descendants?" Jade said, realization dawning on her. "But that means--"

Ness smiled widely. "John and I are first cousins. His father and my mother are twins."

"Oh wow."

"Yep," Ness said flippantly as she turned back to the dresses. 

Jade looked at the frilly things. She only got a glance at some of the gaudier pieces before they threw themselves back in the pile as Ness softly said, "No." Jade tried to appraise the dresses herself, but Ness sorted through them with such expert speed that Jade could neither get a good look nor begin to gauge the lady’s criteria.

But when the dresses all paused, lined up in front of Ness, down to only three of the original seven, she saw it. It was long, sleek, strapless and formfitting-- a long black smear against the white walls. Bright green strips wound along the top and around the bottom hem of the skirt. As she took stepped closer, she saw that the fabric glittered subtly. It reminded her of the night sky.

She reached out a tentative hand and stroked the gown lightly. Smooth silk ran across her fingertips. The dress came down so that it fell to the same level it would sit on her. She reached out and the dress folded itself neatly across her arms.

"Like that one, do you?" Ness asked lightly.

Jade turned back to her with a smile, still holding the dress. Jade noticed that the dresses had all settled back down into the one pile, aside from the one she was still holding. "Yes, I really do," she answered with a wider smile.

Ness's returning smile was just as wide. "Well good! I think that one will suit you the best as well. But I want it to be perfect, so if you please, put it on."

Jade glanced around. Did Ness want her to just strip right here and now? But she saw Ness pointing to a dressing screen in the corner with a smile.

With mumbled thanks, Jade scurried behind the screen. She easily slipped out of her familiar, and tattered, witch's dress. Once she was out of it she realized how overused it had become. Calliope, she wished she had all her clothes. One dress on the road for two weeks was a nightmare!

Kanaya would have killed Dave and Karkat just for that.

Though getting out of her old dress was easy, this new gown was a different matter. She was able to get herself in it for the most part, but she couldn't reach around to lace up the dress the back.

She struggled for a few minutes before she hear Ness step closer to the screen. "Do you need help?" Ness asked.

Well, since her front was covered, and she obviously couldn't do it herself.... "Please," she nearly whimpered.

Ness stepped around the screen and gently led Jade to the four poster bed close by. "Grab the bedpost and hold on tight, okay?"

"Um, okay..." Jade said as she did as Ness instructed.

Ness's deft fingers were easily able to weave the green straps behind Jade. Ness then started to pull the strings closed, but tightly! Jade instantly realized as Ness _really_ started to tug on the lace why Jade needed the bed post.

After much struggling and yanking (some of which worried Jade that the string would snap), Ness had it all laced up, much to Jade's difficulty in breathing.

"Does it have to be so tight?!" she demanded, squirming in the gown. Great, not only could she not _breathe_ , but she couldn't _bend her torso_ in any way, shape, or form either!

"Pretty much," Ness said as she appraised Jade again. "I know it's a pain in the ass, but, damn girl, you look _fiiine_!" she finished with a grin and a nod. "I knew it'd look good on you. But it looks a little tight in the hips and in chest area." 

Jade had to agree. This dress was not made for a curvy girl. She felt practically stuffed in the gown. Jade walked over to the full length mirror to admire herself as Ness kept looking her over.

She had to admit, she did look pretty damn good in this thing. She heard Ness muttering to herself, but Jade ignored her. Unable to stop herself, she did a small pirouette.

She could get used to this kind of treatment.

Ness laughed softly. "Yes, this one suits you well. Now, I know you just got into it, but I need you give that dress back so I can make it perfect for tonight."

Unwillingly, Jade allowed Ness to unlace it again so she could change back. As soon as she threw the dress over the top of the screen next to her old dress, Ness snatched not only the formal gown, but her dress too!

"Hey!" Jade exclaimed. "What are you doing with my dress?!" she demanded as she peeked around the screen.

"I'm going to have it laundered, as well as hemmed, for you," Ness answered, not turning around or stopping. Still keeping her stride, she flicked her finger at the wardrobe in the corner. At her command, the wardrobe banded open and a white robe flew over to land on top of the screen. "That should suffice," Ness finished. The door opened before her and she strode out with a "See you later!"

Jade changed into the new robe, grumbling to herself. Once she was decent again, she wandered back to the bay window. The contingent of guards was still meandering around the front of the grounds. She wondered why they didn't do something. But her thoughts didn't stay on the marching Dersites. They wandered back to worry about Sollux, or mull over Damara, fret over dealing with Caitlin, or, worst of all, wonder about Dave.

She sat there for a time uncounted before another soft knock came. She turned to see yet another maid standing before her. "Hello, Mistress Jade," she said softly. "Lady Vanessa has sent me here to take you to your bath."

"Bath?" Jade asked as she glanced down at herself.

Ugh, she really did need a bath in the worst possible way. There was dirt caked under her fingernails and layered on her skin. Her hair was such a greasy, knotted mess that she was just contemplating shaving it off. Her knees and elbows were scraped and she didn't even want to know what her face looked like. She wondered why she didn't notice this earlier when she was looking at herself with the dress. She must have been too entranced with the dress to notice. But the maid’s presence indicated that Ness’s sharp eyes had caught that. How embarrassing. 

"Thank you," Jade mumbled, a little sheepishly, as she followed the maid out. Hopefully, they could do something to her hair other than shave it all off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The prompt, as given to me on the original site, writtenhomestuckrequests.tumblr.com, by Prospitsprincess (then Halfwritten-fairytale):
> 
> You should write a DaveJade fic in the medieval stuck AU. Where Jack Noir is king for now, John’s the Heir Apparent,Dave is John’s personal knight, and Dave’s been sent to bring Jade in to be burned, John doesn’t like the idea of killing anyone so when Dave gets back with this witch he’s fallen for (not that he’d ever admit it) John begs him not to and they devise a plan to kill Jack Noir, Make John King, and fluff ensues…


	12. Just Before Dinner

The bath was warm and ready for her when the maid led her to it. The tub was so deep and wide that Jade had to more float and swim in it more than really bathe. It beat the creeks and falls at her forest home. 

 

Before she could soak, she recognized the smell of Calliope's bane in the water. Caitlin was playing games, no doubt. Once she sent the maids away, she added a pinch of ground damiana and a tea bag of calamus root, the necessary counter.

Though it would have been nice if Damara hadn't tried to come in, the experience was otherwise very relaxing and highly appreciated.

Back in the room, Jade found her old dress looking pristine and clean again, but the setting seemed to Jade to call for more formal attire. She felt her eyes flash and the dress began to glow green. Reaching out a hand, she pushed out her power and the dress shrank.

Once the gown could only fit a doll or maybe a hamster, Jade undid the clasp of her left earring, which resembled a pouch.

After directing her power again, Jade’s earring grew until it was the size of a normal drawstring sachet. She opened it quickly and exchanged the doll dress for another. The two looked nearly the same, aside from the additional beading at the hem, bodice and neckline.

Once the pouch was back to its tiny size and safely back on her ear, she turned back to the dress. As she forced her magic on the dress, she thought of how good it was to use magic again. It had been cramped up for weeks, waiting and griping. Released now, she could almost feel it sigh in relief at its need to escape.

She dressed quickly, but of course as soon as she had the last of the dress in place, she heard another knock-- more confident, yet lighter, than the maids’-- before Ness waltzed into the room.

"I might have been changing, you know!" Jade said peevishly as Ness laid out the black green-trimmed gown on the bed.

"But you weren't, so we're good!" Ness responded cheerfully. "Nice dress," she added after a quick glance at Jade's new attire. "I was under the impression you didn't have any other clothes."

"I have others stashed away," Jade said evasively. 

Ness chuckled. "Yes, we of the magical affiliation do have certain advantages up our sleeves." She idly smoothed the dress as she paused. "But even if Lady Caitlin has a much healthier view of magic, she is still radical in her ideas in the common view." She locked gazes with Jade, sky blue against vibrant green. "Be very careful, Jade Harley, witch under Space Muse Calliope. Magic, in the eyes of some, is a very terrible thing."

Jade merely stared at Ness in shock. Ness was still staring at her intently, expecting an answer. Mutely, Jade nodded at her. Ness sighed then smiled. "Just something to keep in mind, alright?"

Without waiting for an answer to this one, turned around and grabbed the black and green gown Jade had tried on only a few hours ago. "Is it really ready already?" Jade asked, touching the hem lightly.

"Yup. They don't call me the best seamstress in Windenshade for nothin'."

Ness picked up the garment and held it out to Jade. "Put it on," she urged, placing it in Jade's arms.

With a smile, Jade went behind the dressing screen again, slipping quite easily now into the dress. Without Ness having to ask, Jade came back in front of the bed and waited patiently as Ness laced the back up quickly. Much to Jade's relief, Ness did not tighten the dress as much as she had last time.

And the dress… now that it fit comfortably around her curves, she was able to enjoy it. Instead of feeling pinched or squeezed, she felt caressed. She was unable to stop herself from running her hands down her sides to feel the fabric, or do a little pirouette in front of the mirror.

She remembered Ness a split second too late, but instead of laughing Ness sighed. Jade turned to look at her and saw Ness marveling at her. Ness sighed again as she said "Perfect. Absolutely perfect. It's like this dress was custom made for you!"

Jade blushed and lowered her eyes, a smile playing at her lips. She turned around to the mirror again but she didn't get to look long before Ness grabbed her and led her away.

"Wha--?" she tried to ask as Ness pushed her into a chair.

"Your dress may be done but your look is hardly complete," Ness explained as she motioned toward an alcove. A hidden maid came out, her head bowed in respect, and presented Ness with a large chest. "Now that you're clean we can do something about the rest of you."

"What's in there?" Jade asks, looking at the chest.

Ness laughed softly. "Magic, of the everyday and beauty kind."

Jade blushed lightly. "That isn't a magic I usually study," she admitted.

Ness smiled, opening the chest. "I can teach you how."

She then grabbed Jade's hands and glanced over them. "I see they converted your talons to fingernails." Jade growled lowly under her breath, but let it go. Jade didn't want to admit it, but Ness was right.

Ness snapped and yet another maid came over, her head also bowed, and waited as Ness rummaged through the chest. She gave the second maid a small bright green bottle before going back to the chest. Jade watched as the maid opened the bottle and gently began painting Jade's nails the color of her eyes.

"These ears," Ness said as she grabbed the tops of them and pulled sharply.

"Ow! Hey!!!" Jade yelped as she covered her ears with her hands, knocking Ness's hands off her ears and yanking her hand out of the maid's.

"Oh, now look what you've done!" Ness said angrily as she snatched Jade's green smeared hand. Jade was surprised at the strength Ness had to manage to rip her hand off her ears. Ness reached into the chest and smeared a liquid on her hand that removed the green streak.

As Ness gave Jade's hand back to the maid, she focused again on Jade's ears. "Permanent, I take it?" Ness demanded.

"Yes, and _sensitive_!" Jade answered, but Ness was back in her chest.

Jade watched apprehensively as Ness rifled through the chest. Just as the second maid was respectfully asking for Jade's other hand, Ness was pulling out streams of silky ribbons. Jade watched as she pulled out four kinds of ribbons. One was sold black with shining points like the fabric that was wrapped around her body. Another was just like her dress, with shining white dots against black with a thin line of bright green around the edge. Other was just the solid green while the last was inverted from her dress with green with starry black lightly trimmed on the outside. She also noticed that the back was solid studded black.

Ness started to compare the ribbons against Jade's hair and dress, letting one long stream of each flow down the side of her head and onto her lap.

"I like this one," Jade said, touching the lime ribbon with cosmic trim.

Ness returned the other three to in the chest as the maid started to paint Jade's other set of nails. Ness stared at Jade with the ribbon for a second before tossing the ribbon back into the chest. Before Jade could protest, Ness took out one more that was starry green on one side and starry black on the other. "I'll do it one better," Ness said.

Jade sat still patiently as Ness started to knot the ribbons into bows in front of ears. After she finished tying the bows so that they are framed by her ears, she backed up and looked over Jade as if she was a great artwork in the making.

“You don’t like my ears?” Jade asked defensively, the ears in question lying flat back on her head.

"Hardly," Ness said, shaking her head. "They make you look… wild."

Jade's ears perked back up as Ness said this. This made her feel almost smug. After all, she was quite proud of her ears. And she liked being wild. Wild meant she was free.

Ness said quietly under her breath so only Jade could hear with her dog ears "I know a couple of people that would love to try and tame you, but don't ever let them. Always stay wild, girl."

Jade stared at Ness and their eyes locked. Jade then knew that she was being more serious than ever before. But the moment passed and Ness smiled again.

"Now, this hair," Ness said and started on it.

Jade could only sit as Ness brushed her fingers through Jade's hair. She was amused to watch Ness mull over her hair, eventually having the air itself style it as Ness stood back and watched. Eventually she settled on her hair being down, but tightly curled and having streams of thin silver thread loop in the curls. And then Ness took hours to actually style it, using an assortment of potions and tools from the chest.

"Can't we just use magic?" Jade demanded after an hour or so of having Ness pull and tug on her hair.

"I already told you, we are doing magic," was all Ness would say.

When Jade could finally see herself, hours later, she was blown away by her own image. The ribbons in front of her ears were double knotted, so that both sides could be seen, the green before the back, framed by snowy white. The ribbons tailed down her head before spinning themselves into curls.

Jade thought she looked as if she had just walked out of the night sky.

"I…" Jade started, dazzled by her own image. "I look…"

"Stunning," Ness said, coming to stand next to her. Jade couldn't help but think how Ness looked almost plain next to Jade now. "Just stunning." She turned back to Jade. "Only one thing now!" she pointed down to Jade's still bare feet. "Shoes."

As Jade glanced down at her feet, Ness snapped and another maid brought over the tallest pair of heeled shoes Jade had ever seen. Jade just stared at them as Ness presented them to Jade. "Put them on," Ness simply said.

Jade started, staring at Ness now. "People can't wear those!" Jade declared. "This is a joke!"

Ness glared back at Jade before crossing her arms. Then she unwound her arms just to lift up her skirt to reveal her own massive heels hiding beneath her skirt. Jade's eyes widened as she beheld the shoes. Ness dropped her skirt and refolded her arms across her chest before glaring at Jade again. "Put. Them. On," Ness repeated.

Jade whined loudly but buckled under Ness's gaze and finally put them on. Once she stood up she started to wobbled dangerously, which made Ness put her face in her hand. "Try walking but if you think you're gonna fall just take them off," she said from her hand.

Even though she was still wobbly, she heard a challenge in Ness's words. Jade made her back ramrod straight and walked across the room. She noticed it was like ice skating in the winter. When she made the turn and was walking back to Ness, she was smiling as she strode confidently back to her place at Ness's side. Ness, all the while, watched her walk across the room. Her eyes stayed on Jade's feet as she asked "You think you can wear those for a couple of hours?"

Jade walked a little more. "You know, I think I can!" She'd be sitting down most of the time anyway. How hard could it be to sit in shoes?

"Good!" Ness declared as she finally. "Dave's a tall one, after all," Ness added with a sly wink as she walked back to her chest.

Jade blushed, but tried to keep her head up. "I didn't notice," she declared. "Not at all."

Ness let out a peal of laughter. "Liar!" Ness accused before falling into giggles again. Jade blushed scarlet, but Ness waved her away as Jade opened her mouth to protest. "Don't worry," Ness assured her. "I wear these heels for a reason.”

"Oh?" Jade asked, raising an eyebrow, as the maids left.

Ness giggled again, blushing lightly herself. "My own Time Knight. But we can talk about boys later. Take the shoes off and follow me." Ness started to leave but stopped, looking at Jade's feet again. "Or keep them on and try to keep up with me." Ness thought for another second before pointing at the shoes and asked, "Do you think you can dance in those?"

"I've never danced before," Jade admitted. "Except spinning around in glades, I suppose. So I dunno."

"Try it," Ness said, holding her body in a specific way. "Hold your body like I have mine. As if you're with a partner."

Jade mimicked Ness uncertainly. "Okay…."

Ness started off in a slow waltz, which Jade tried to follow. Jade was slow and stumbled, but quickly got the hang of it. As Ness saw that Jade could keep up she got faster and faster, testing Jade's limits. Jade always needed a few steps to learn, but caught on wonderfully. Ness finished her dance with a flourish, which Jade attempted and almost fell.

Ness laughed gaily, covering her mouth. She walked over and put a comforting hand on Jade's shoulder. "It's easier with a partner," Ness assured her. "Yes, you'll do fine."

"Thanks," Jade said, smiling.

Ness motioned for Jade to follow her out of the room and down the hall. "You still need different shoes than those, however," she explained as they walked. She stopped at a large door. Ness snapped and winds opened the heavy door to reveal a spacious wall. When they walked in Jade saw that it was lined with nothing but shoes! So many shoes! It boggled Jade's mind.

"W-who has need for all these clothes?" Jade demanded.

"Honey, this is just shoes," Ness said. "And this is nothing. My shoe closet is twice this size at least."

"When do you have time to wear so many?"

"When keeping up with appearances, you need a new pair every day and the fashions change every year so what you wore last year gets thrown out. Although," Ness sighed, picking up a random shoe, "they waste theirs. They get thrown to the pigs like there aren't people who could make the more sensible and use them." 

Ness sighed and put the shoe back. She looked back to Jade and smiled. "But this is about _you_." She gestured to the shoes around the room. "Pick some."

Jade glanced around quickly. "I wouldn't know where to start!"

"Well…" Ness began.

Ness started to methodically pick out different kinds of shoes and laying them out for Jade to look over. Mostly, Ness stuck with green or black. Except for one pair. This one is a pair of bright red heels that sparkle like they were covered in rubies. The heels on these shoes are shorter than the ones Jade and Ness were wearing and they looked very manageable and comfortable to Jade.

Jade gasped. "Those!" she said, pointing at the red shoes. "The red ones! I want those!"

Ness turned back to the red heels. She examined them for an instant before handing them to Jade, who snatched them eagerly. Ness snapped and a chair flew around so Jade could sit. Jade couldn't get the taller heels off fast enough. She slipped easily into the heels and admired them on her feet. They fit like they were made for her.

"I love them!" Jade said, grinning up at Ness, who smiled back.

Jade heard footsteps and turned, as Ness did. Down the hall, they saw Lady Caitlin approaching. Jade heard Ness' breath catch and she turned to see Ness' urgent face. Ness grabbed Jade and pulled her to her feet, directly, but not roughly. "Keep your head down and let me do the talking," Ness told her bluntly.

Jade just nodded and bowed her head as Caitlin swept through the door. "Lady Summers! Mistress Jade!" Caitlin said grandly.

"Lady Time," Ness said with a respectful incline of her head.

"Lady Time," Jade echoed with a curtsy.

Caitlin looked Jade over quickly and began to circle her just like Ness had done. But Jade registered a difference in their faces. Ness had been speculative, where Caitlin was possessive. Caitlin made Jade even more edgy than Ness ever did. It made her want to call on her magic, but Caitlin's oils were starting to fill her nose and cloud her senses.

"You've done well, Lady Summers," Caitlin said softly.

"Thank you," Ness answered tersely.

Caitlin grabbed Jade's chin and roughly forced her to look her in the face. The scent hit Jade full on in the face, making her want to gag. Jade stopped breathing but looked Caitlin in the eye. She wouldn’t let this woman win.

"She looks so much better," Caitlin finally decided.

"Thank you," Ness repeated, her tone borderline rude. "Don't spoil my canvas."

Caitlin looked over to Ness, who returned her gaze evenly. Caitlin laughed and released Jade's chin. The air shifted in front of Jade's nose and the scent of Calliope's bane moved away, bring fresh, untainted air over her mouth and nose. Jade's defenses rose as she kept her eyes down, her anger rising.

Caitlin shifted tactics and pulled on one of the ribbons, pulling hair and one of Jade's ears roughly. Jade bit her lip determined not to lash out like Caitlin wanted her to. "The beastly ears can be gotten rid of?" Caitlin demanded of Ness, though her eyes were still on Jade.

"It is who she is," Ness responded simply, stepping between Caitlin and Jade smoothly.

Ness stared Caitlin down. As they stood off, the air grew thick with tension. Jade felt something else in the air too. A heaviness hung in the air as if a storm was about to hit. Jade could smell Ness and Caitlin's powers rising. Ness reached behind her and grabbed Jade's hand. Jade squeezed Ness's hand and Jade added her own power to Ness's as discreetly as she could.

In response, the air seems to jump and the light streaming through the window and the lighted candles flicker for an instant. Caitlin's gaze faltered and jumped around, nervous for a fraction of an instant. "Anything else, _Lady_ Caitlin," Ness nearly demanded.

Caitlin and Ness squared off for only a fraction of a second more before Caitlin smiled and her power dropped. Ness released her and Jade's magic as well and the air relaxes.

"Good work, _Lady_ Vanessa," Caitlin responded just before striding out the door. "I will see you both at dinner," she called over her shoulder, not stopping.

As soon as she was gone, Ness fully relaxed as well as gave out an explosive sigh. "God I hate her sometimes," Ness said to no one. But she did turn to Jade and ask "Are you alright?"

"She scares me, but, yeah, I'm fine."

"She scares me too," Ness responded. Then she smiled. "Now, before I get ready, I'm going to give you some tips on your dancing."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The prompt, as given to me on the original site, writtenhomestuckrequests.tumblr.com, by Prospitsprincess (then Halfwritten-fairytale):
> 
> You should write a DaveJade fic in the medieval stuck AU. Where Jack Noir is king for now, John’s the Heir Apparent,Dave is John’s personal knight, and Dave’s been sent to bring Jade in to be burned, John doesn’t like the idea of killing anyone so when Dave gets back with this witch he’s fallen for (not that he’d ever admit it) John begs him not to and they devise a plan to kill Jack Noir, Make John King, and fluff ensues…


	13. A Formal Event at House Time

Once she was alone, back in her room, she sat on the bay window’s ledge again, even though Ness had instructed her to practice sitting “like a lady.” She made sure her posture was good and her ankles were crossed so that it probably counted as being ladylike.

The courtyard and garden below her were less active than earlier in the afternoon, but she counted more bodies than before, including those dressed in both royal purple and rich red military uniforms. She also noted that there were now knights. 

Once again, her thoughts were on Sollux and his face. He still needed healing badly. Jade couldn't help but think about just how _close_ Feferi was; only a few riding hours away, so close she could practically hear her spells going off in the distance.

Then Dave crossed her mind unwillingly. It was getting hard to deny the emotions that were starting to swell inside her. Her feelings were strong for him, that much she knew, but she'd always had strong emotions. She just didn't know what kind of feelings she had for the Time Knight. It just didn't sit well with her.

As she tried to shift through her thoughts, a light knock came to her door just before Ness let herself into the room again. Jade turned and before a snarky remark jumped from her tongue, it was stopped by the sight in front of her.

Ness still wore a sky blue ensemble, but there was no mistaking the formality of this dress and how causal her first dress must have been.

Jade wondered how Ness could even walk in that dress as it hugged her form so tightly. This dress was slim, but long. A mantle that was the same blue as the emblem of her house on her chest flowed down her back and down her legs to almost trail the floor. Where the mantle stopped, the skirt continued and trailed behind her slightly. Sleeves that clung to her slender arms went down to her wrists. Jade noted many white beads caught in the skirt of the dress, as well as around her emblem and around the trim of her mantle and across her shoulders. A silver circlet rested across her brow, matching the thin rings sitting on a few of her fingers and the diamond studded bracelet that sat on her left wrist. Jade also noticed that Ness's already curly hair had been twisted into tight spirals that were also dotted with gems.

Ness smiled at Jade's reaction before taking a quick assessment of Jade. Ness walked over and hastily fixed a few stray strands of Jade's hair. "Thank you," Jade said softly.

"You are more than welcome," Ness said, smiling and framing Jade's face quickly. She dropped Jade's face and asked "You ready?"

Jade stood up quickly and started at first when she noticed that, in these heels, she was much taller than Ness. Jade took a quick step back and smiled at her. "Yes ma'am," she replied.

Ness only smiled before she grabbed Jade's hand and led her out the door. Outside her door, Jade found two Time Knights standing in the hall. Of course Jade knew Dave, but this other, much taller knight, was one she hadn't seen previously. She noted that this knight had much darker skin, a russet complexion, than Dave, as well as black hair that was cut short. His stance was even more casual that Dave's was when Dave was at his most relaxed. Looking at his relaxed and kind face, even as he only looked at Dave, Jade couldn't help but like this man already.

"Jade," Ness said lightly, "This is Jacob Bartley," she said with a gesture to the taller knight.

Jacob turned to Jade at last, his brown eyes meeting her green ones. He smiled kindly at Jade before he quickly turned to Dave back to Dave with a smirk. "That's your girl, Dave?" he asked him. "She's way out of your league."

“Dude, please!” Dave scoffed quickly, despite his blush. “I can handle any league because, would you look at that, I am in every league. You’re talking to the Dave Strider, four-time champion of the annual Fuck-Off Bowl. You know I make all the homeruns with my special screw-you ball technique. Oh, uh, excuse the French, ma’am,” he said to Ness, suddenly remembering she was there. 

Ness only giggled with a small shake of her head. Jacob walked over to Jade and grabbed her hand lightly. "Lady Harley," Jacob said with profound respect as he lifted her hand to his lips.

Jade was taken aback and could only bow to him. She really didn't expect such formality from a man with such a casual stance and posture. "Please, sir, I am no lady."

"Buuuuuuut," Jacob countered, losing his formality in an instant, "You fit the title, and you enjoyed the title, so you can be the title."

Jade laughed. It just seemed so absurd. "If you say so, Sir Bartley," Jade said with a smile.

Jacob released her hand and pinched the top of one of her ears lightly, playfully. With a laugh and a swat at his hand, she looked up at his smiling face as he said "You call me Jacob and I'll call you Jade, okay?"

Jade laughed and agreed. Jacob moved his hand and offered his arm to Ness, which she took with a small, almost shy, smile. As the pair passed Dave, Jacob looked over at Dave and told him in an obvious stage whisper, "And that's how you treat a woman," before leading Ness off, the two laughing lightly together.

Jade turned her own shade of red as her and Dave's eyes met. The blush on Dave's cheeks was already starting to fade. His eyes looked troubled and he looked flustered. Jade noticed that his armor had been cleaned and polished, his mantle resting across his shoulders and stopping only an inch from the ground. He also now wore an ornate helmet that resembled a crown. She turned a shade darker of red and walked up to him. "There's," she cleared her throat. "There's no need for you to do… anything you don't… want to…" Jade trailed off. "Sir Strider," she added, the formal setting getting the better of her.

Dave raised an eyebrow, his color returning to normal. "Sir Strider?" he asked incredulously.

Jade could only blush darker and turn her face away. After an instant of silence, Dave shrugged and said "Then I guess I'll just stride away, Ms. Jade," casually as he turned around and started to walk after Jacob and Ness.

Jade opened her mouth in surprise, but she quickly closed it. Unsure what to do, she opted to go after him. "Dave, please! Don't…" she trailed off. Don't what? she asked herself. Don't go? Don't leave me here? Don't not escort me? Don't make me do this on my own?

While she debated, Dave swirled around, a smirk already playing on his lips. Calliope, she loved that look of his…. "Well then, Ms. Harley," he said extravagantly, offering her his arm as Jacob did to Ness. "Let's go and rock the fuck out of this dinner."

Jade smiled and took his arm. He sounded like the old Dave she knew so well.

"Whoops, better stop talking like that," Dave continued as he led her through the House again. "Caitlin says it's bad for 'esteemed members of the house' to talk all commoner in front of the prince. The High Douche is more like it."

"Oh, that's right," Jade said, lightly placing her hand just above Dave's wrist like Ness taught her. "The prince will be there. I keep forgetting."

"The High Douche will be doing all his douchely sitting around and letting people talk bullshit at him for hours. Seen it once, seen it about a thousand times with John. It’s just as much fun as standing around and making sure no one tries to kill anyone. That's what I usually gotta deal with but you saved me from that shit, so thanks girl." He stopped to look her in the eye, a small, but genuine smile on his lips. "I owe you one."

Jade started, unsure of what to say. "Um, you're welcome!" she finally decided with a sheepish smile. "Glad to help."

Dave moved out of her grasped just too gently grab her hand and kiss her hand, keeping eye contact with her just as Jake had. Color returned to Jade's face, but she smiled as well, bobbing in a curtsy just as Ness taught her.

Dave smiles at her as she grabs his arms again and the two walk to a large hall.

Jade was dazzled. The room was so well lit for this time of night! She saw crystal sparkling in every corner of room, even the ceiling! Chandeliers larger than whole homes hung from the ceiling, throwing brilliant lights and colors into every nook and cranny.

More crystal gleamed on the long table that sat along the wall farthest from the entrance she walked into. Goblets filled with amber and garnet-colored liquids sat next to shiny silver plates and silver utensils. Gold candelabras emitted more light from the table, making these lights look earthier compared to the celestial lights the crystal from the ceiling emitted.

As she and Dave entered the room, she noted tables laden with food and drinks were along both sides of doors they entered from. Crystal fountains poured wine and other drinks were held in wide bowels and gold and silver dishes offered up mounds of succulent treats. Platters were full of the finest hors d'oeuvres and she even saw whole roasted deer and pigs!

The rest of the room was empty of furniture but full of swirling figures finely clothed in the colors as bright and clear as jewels. Jade had a thought to the many different colors that flooded the room were to reflect the different houses that here in attendance. To Jade, the people looked just as stunning as the crystal hanging from the ceiling. They all moved with the same grace and elegance, dancing or no, that Caitlin and Ness radiated even when they were still.

At the head of the table directly at its center sat the Dersite Prince, Dirk. The chair he sat on more resembled a throne than a chair. On his right was Caitlin, already talking quickly to Prince Dirk. On his left was Ness, looking less than impressed as she casually sipped on a chalice of amber liquid. She was looking out on the crowd of dancers before her, ignoring both the prince and the diplomats around her. Jade noted that the seat next to her was empty, though the rest of the seats on either side of Caitlin and Ness were full.

Dave led Jade around the left of the outskirts of the swirling dance floor, and to the table. Dave kept behind the seated diplomats, who turned to assess the pair. As Ness taught her, she didn't look or acknowledge any of their stares, no matter how offensive some were. Even so, she couldn't stop from pinning her ears back against her head.

Once they got closer, Jade noticed Jacob standing unobtrusively behind Ness, watching over her in a knightly manner. Jacob saw them coming and motioned to Dave. Dave excused himself with a bow to Jade and followed Jacob off to the side behind the table, leaving her alone.

Not knowing what to do and wary of the glances that Caitlin continued to throw her, Jade turn to Ness to see the Lady of Breath smiling at her. Jade beamed in return, relieved as Ness patted the seat of the chair next to her. Jade followed the silent instructions at once, minding her skirts as she settled into the seat-- so close to the prince, yet she could only see the back of his head at this instant.

Ness handed her one of the golden chalices and she sniffed the contents, smelling the amber liquid inside. It smelled sweet, but spicy to her. She sipped it, intrigued. Warmth followed the drink down her throat as spices she'd never tasted swam across her tongue. She hummed with pleasure at the drink as Ness turned back to her. "What is this?" Jade asked enthusiastically.

"Spiced ale," Ness said, lifting her own goblet to Jade's, clinking the two together lightly.

Jade took another scan of the room, trying to absorb it all, as she and Ness took another sip. "This is all so… beautiful," Jade told Ness, still looking at the scene before her.

"Isn't it?" Ness asked, delighted. "I hate to tell you this, but I wouldn't get comfortable," Ness informed her. "You'll have to dance soon; Caitlin has set you up to dance with many people. Although," Ness paused to glance around the room and at all the eyes that were watching Jade, "It looks as if she needn't have bothered."

Color flashed across Jade's face, and her eyes plummeted to her lap. She fought the temptation to look around at them, but she was afraid of the permission they would think she gave them if they happened to meet eyes. She felt Ness's slim arm wrap around her shoulders and bring their heads close together. 

"A word of warning," Ness breathed, nearly inaudible under the music and voices in the hall. "Don't trust anyone but me, the Skaian knights, and Jacob. The prince is a variable, but otherwise assume everyone else wants to put a dagger in your back.”

The hair on the back of Jade's neck and her ears started to stand up on end. "Why would anyone want to stab me?" Jade demanded.

Ness chuckled. "In politics, you don't need a blade to kill, my dear."

Jade frowned. "I don't get politics and I already don't like them."

Ness finally pulled away from her and smirked. "Just be on your guard," Ness warned again. "And trust _no one_ ," she emphasized again.

A metal-encased hand lightly fell on Jade's shoulder. She suppressed a shudder as she turned to see the owner. She breathed a silent breath of relief when it was just Karkat. "Let's dance," he demanded as he moved his hand to her upper arm and lead her out of her seat. But Jade noted that it didn't hurt, it was just insistent, almost urgent.

She saw that, like Dave, his armor and clothing had been mended and polished. He wore a brown mantle the same length as Dave's. His helmet, however, was not nearly as ornate. She also noted that he had no visor on his helmet. Even Dave's crown helmet had a visor, even if Dave kept it out of his face.

"No eloquence as always, Sir Vantas?" Ness remarked from over the top of her glass.

"I'm a knight, not a puffed-up prissy noble, Vanessa," Karkat said somewhat disrespectfully to her. "What did you expect?"

"You're a Skaian Knight," Ness reminded him. "Try to act like it."

"I didn't ask for your opinion, Vanessa!" Karkat snapped at her, though his grip on Jade remained gentle.

Ness jumped to her feet, but Jacob seemed to appear out of thin air and place a restraining hand on her shoulder. "Vanessa, people will start to stare soon" Jacob said to her under his breath.

Jade saw Ness breathing heavily though her nose, but she regained her calm faster than Jade thought she would have. Jacob released her hand and offered it to her instead. "Dance with me?" he asked so sweetly. So distractingly, Jade remarked silently.

With an irritated glance at Karkat, she took Jake's hand and led him away, her walk and body tense, though Jacob's was still relaxed, as if nothing had happened. Jade heard Karkat begin to mutter angrily under his breath and she wasn't about to let him get himself worked up over nothing. Jade twisted and took his hand in hers, distracting him. She smiled at him as she said, "Come on, let's go dance already," she took his arm like she had Dave's, though she felt more relaxed with Karkat than Dave. "Maybe it'll calm you down."

Karkat only stared at her for an instant before he nearly dragged her to the dance floor. The music died as the pair hit the floor, but started quickly in a slower tempo. He began to spin her in a waltz, the very same one that Ness had just taught her earlier. Jade noted that he wasn't anywhere to Ness's caliber but he still led her well, though he was still stiff.

After a few steps and a spin, which made Jade squeal a little, but it broke into giggles at his red, but still angry, face. "Why are you so angry, Karkat?" Jade asked.

"We've been on the road of weeks together now," Karkat reminded her. "Haven't you fucking noticed? I'm always angry.”

"I knew that, but I figured there must be a cause this time. Usually I can pinpoint what causes your tantrums. You'd be even more handsome if you just smiled every once in a while," she teased him as he opened his mouth to argue with her over those 'tantrums' he had.

As it was, that last like did its magic and it only made Karkat blush more, and look away, frowning as he did so. After a few measures in silence, Karkat admitted to her softly, "This place puts me on edge."

"Yeah," Jade said just as softly. "It does that to me too." She agreed with a shiver, her mind back on Caitlin.

"I guess it's Kankri's influence, really," Karkat continued to her as the music and people continued to flow around her. "He always had a problem with authority." He spun her suddenly, making Jade squeal again as she went with it.

"You're a lovely dancer," she told him as they embraced again.

Karkat gave her a raspy, sarcastic laugh. "Flattery earns no one any points, Jade," he told her. "But thanks anyway," he added with a hidden smile.

"Karkat, I've never danced before," she reminded him. "We're not falling everywhere. Therefore, it's lovely!"

He laughed a little more genuinely as the music started to die. Jade gave him an answering grin as the two bowed to each other.

"May I cut in?" a smooth voice asked as the music started again.

They both turned to see Dave standing next to them. Karkat and Dave locked eyes for a second before Karkat gave Jade over stiffly. Jade looked at the two, unsure what to do as Karkat stared angrily at Dave for an instant before he walked off in a huff.

Dave wrapped his arms around Jade as Karkat had done, though he pulled her closer than Karkat had. Before she could say anything, Dave smirked at her and swirled her away in a slightly faster and more complex dance than before. "How's the party treating you, babe?" Dave asked as he dipped her over his arm.

Jade raised her eye brow as Dave straightened her. "Babe?" she asked while struggling to match his steps. "I didn't know we were on those terms," she said with a wink.

Dave, caught off guard with her ability to respond, became flustered for a second before he recovered himself. "Excuse me, Mistress Jade," he said automatically. "I spoke out of turn."

He reminded her of a prince that walked out of a fairytale. He dipped her again as he said, "I forgot myself for a small moment. I promise it will not happen again, milady."

Jade felt like her face was on fire as she straightened again. "N-no!" she said, thrown by his speech, "It's fine. I… I like being on those terms with you," she confessed with a sheepish smile before realizing that, from the looks of his surprised, amused expression, he had been trying to tease her again.

The music ended and the pair froze, both of their faces a light red. As a new song began, Jade heard a new set of footsteps she didn't recognized approach, but before they could get close, or even into her line of sight, Dave brought her even closer to him; their noses might have touched if she moved her head, but his breath on her cheek paralyzed her. 

"So do I, Mistress Jade, but we are being watched so we have to be careful," Dave reminded her, and he led her into this new, slower, more intimate dance. Though he gave them some room, he kept them close in this slower dance. "And you forget that I am supposed to be taking you to the king for trial."

Jade's smile dropped. With a day like today had been with magic and dresses and baths and nobles, it made her think she had fell into a fairytale. She had thought that maybe she could have changed the mind of this knight, this man that had his arms wrapped around her so tenderly. It was hard to break back into the reality of it all. Tears started to form in her eyes, but she beat them back. "I'm going to die, aren't I…?" she asked so softly she could hardly hear it herself.

Dave's otherwise relaxed face also fell. He stopped them from dancing, letting the other figures dance and swirl around them. "I…" he tried to begin. "I don't—" he began, but Jade cut him off.

"It's fine," she told him. "Really," she tried to assure him at his doubtful look. She smiled, "I gotta stay chipper, you know!" she said with forced pep. "Only positive thoughts."

Dave, amazed, could only stare deeply into her eyes. He brought her face close, making her tight smile fall into a bewildered look. She didn't – couldn't! – even believe it when he brought his lips so close to hers. But even when he moved closer and closer, she didn't pull away, which confused her even more. He finally stopped with his lips only a hairs width away, so close she could taste the mint on his breath.

"I don't want you to go there and die," he whispered against her lips. "I want to keep you safe."

Jade shivered. "Dave," she whispered, looking into his urgent, torn eyes, the music dying again. "Dave… your job… the watchers!"

"May I have this next dance, Milady?" a new, deeper, refined voice asked.

Dave almost shoved Jade away with how quickly he moved away to bow on bended knee to this new voice. Jade looked up, stunned with Dave's quick action and declaration left her head spinning. When she finally turned to the new voice and looked into the orange eyes of the Prince of Derse, Dirk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The prompt, as given to me on the original site, writtenhomestuckrequests.tumblr.com, by Prospitsprincess (then Halfwritten-fairytale):
> 
> You should write a DaveJade fic in the medieval stuck AU. Where Jack Noir is king for now, John’s the Heir Apparent,Dave is John’s personal knight, and Dave’s been sent to bring Jade in to be burned, John doesn’t like the idea of killing anyone so when Dave gets back with this witch he’s fallen for (not that he’d ever admit it) John begs him not to and they devise a plan to kill Jack Noir, Make John King, and fluff ensues…


	14. A Dance With the Prince

Jade didn’t know what to do or think. Stunned, she looked around desperately, unable to think of what to do. She eventually found Ness sitting at her seat again, next to the throne-like chair at the head of the table. The two locked eyes for a second before Ness bowed slightly to Jade. With a start, she turned back to the prince and bowed deeply to him. He told her to rise, their eyes meeting as she looked back up, meeting the Prince’s gaze, who returned her confused look with an intense one of his own.

”Your highness,” Dave said more to his shoes than the actual prince.

Prince Dirk inclined his head to Dave in acknowledgement but he kept his eyes on Jade, intensifying her bafflement. “Would you honor me with this dance, Lady Jade?” Dirk asked her.

Jade nodded – how the hell could she say no? – with a curtsy and a blush. “Of course, your highness. But I am no lady,” she informed him, standing again, still not having taken his hand. “Just Jade.”

With the hand that Jade had ignored he dismissed Dave with a small wave. Jade watched him go for an instant, noting his stiff walk back toward the table, now missing quite a number of people. Then Dirk gently took her into his arms and he swept her away in another slow dance. Jade shivered from the intimacy, but smiled at the prince, following him.

“I’m sorry, I know it is one of the oldest clichés,” Dirk said to her as they danced, “but I can’t help but feel as if we met before. I’d say there’s a great chance of it, in fact.”

"I…” she began, thinking. “I don’t think so, your highness.”

“Please, call me Dirk,” he told her with a warm smile. “I seem to remember those bright green eyes of yours.” Dirk thought for a moment. “This morning, in fact.”

“Oh?” Jade asked in surprise. “I’m flattered your hi—Dirk, but truly, I believe you are mistaken!”

Dirk leaned in closer to her, as if he hadn’t heard her. “You were the girl on the horse, weren’t you? That wild forest witch that I lost in the crowd.” He continued before she had a chance to speak. “Your ears give you away, beautiful Jade.”

Jade’s color turned from pink to blood red in an instant. “T-thank you milord. I did see a parade…” she trailed off, her words lost in the intense look he was giving her.

And then she saw his face lighten as he gave her an almost self-conscious smirk. “Curse of being royalty,” he told her. “I can’t go anywhere without everyone making a big fuss about it.”

“It was very interesting,” Jade told him, her color returning to normal. “I’ve never seen one before.” _Though it would have been nice not having been tied to a horse at that time_ , she thought, but she kept that to herself.

“What, a parade?” He asked incredulously.

“Yes,” Jade said with a laugh. “I know, it sounds so silly!”

“No, not at all,” Dirk assured her. “There was always something wild about you. This seems to fit.” He gently flung her out from him in a few steps, not releasing her hand, before spinning her back to him, rewrapping his arms around her. “I could give you a parade, if you wanted,” he told her. “Hundreds of them.”

Jade started, losing her footing, nearly stepping on the prince’s toes. “W-wha—?” She tried to say. “Why me?” she demanded, starting to lose all the refinement Ness had taught her. “I don’t need one! Your highness,” she added quickly.

“But wouldn’t you like one, my beautiful forest witch?” he persisted.

Jade felt heat chase across her face. “No,” Jade insisted, stopping their dance, “Really. I don’t need anything.”

“We don’t need many things, but I would like to give you anything you could ever want.”

“Why me?” Jade demanded again. He _couldn’t_ be serious.

Dirk thought about it for an instant, his orange eyes distant. “Why don’t we continue this conversation in private?” he asked, already turning and leading her away by her hand.

“W-what?” Jade asked, being drawn along behind the prince. “But—! But sir! The party—!” she tried to reason with him, looking around frantically.

Dirk stopped only to turn to her and kiss the back of her hand lightly. “Never mind that, my princess,” he told her, his lips still next to her hand. And then he walks off again, still with her hand in his.

“Prince Dirk, I am no princess!” Jade insisted herself, desperation rising within her.

“But I can make you one,” Dirk said easily, not stopping or turning.

“Please!” Jade appealed, real desperation flooding her mind. “I, um,” she struggled, “I have a duty to stay and entertain! Your highness, please!”

“You are not the lady of the house,” Dirk responded easily.

“You barely know me!”

“Worry not, we can get to know each other well later.” He stopped to pull her close to his body again, as if he was going to begin dancing with her again. “Every king needs a queen, my beauty.” He pulled her face close to his. “I would like to make you a queen.”

“I, uhm… Please, I mean no offense, but! Um…” she began to look around for Karkat or Jake or Dave to save her from this seemingly mad prince!

“Your highness,” a new, calm and feminine voice broke in.

Dirk stopped to lock gazes with a new woman that was standing in the way between him and the exit he had been walking to. She was no taller than Dirk, but she radiated power and confidence that stood in the face of royalty. She wore armor and a mantle similar to Dave and Karkat’s. Her helmet was fashioned to look like a tiara. To replace a visor, she wore red rectangular glasses.

“What do you want, Latula?” Dirk demanded.

“You’re making the lady uncomfortable, Dirk,” she said, leaning against the frame of the door. “That’s so not rad, dude.”

“Stop speaking nonsense!” Dirk snapped at her.

“Nonsense?!” Jade demanded.

“Dirk, you have a duty to attend to!” Latula told him, standing up straight.

“Latula, stand down!” Dirk commanded.

“Dirk!” Latula nearly shouted at him.

Jade began to draw her magic. This was going nowhere good fast. Just as Dirk’s hand started to tighten on her wrist and her magic was drawing to a peak, an earth shattering crash sounded behind them.

Dirk finally released her hand as all three of them spun around. Behind them, one of the smaller but still massive chandeliers had fallen. Shards of broken crystal and silver lay strewn across the floor. As the three of them looked, another one of the smaller ones started to fall, ladies and lords screaming to get out of the way. The tables lining the walls were being overturned as people desperately shoved them for cover.

Along the body lined wall, Jade, with her magically enhanced eyes, saw Jake cut one of the lines holding a chandelier with a sickie. On the wall closet to her, she saw Karkat shoving his way through the crowd toward her. “JADE!” Of course his obnoxious voice could be heard over the din of confused and screaming nobility. “WE NEED TO LEAVE _NOW_!”

“GET SOLLUX!” Jade screamed back, taking a step toward the Blood Knight.

“JACOB!” Karkat screamed. Jacob’s head popped up as his name rang throughout the hall. “GET THE DAMN MAGE!”

Jake quickly disappeared within the crowd and Karkat kept fighting his way to Jade.

Latula wasted no time grabbing Dirk and pulling him to safety, covering him with both of their mantles. “This way, Dirk,” she said, calm as ever.

But before they or Jade could get anywhere, Dirk grabbed Jade’s wrist. “She comes with us!”

“You are my only charge!” Latula barked at him.

“Let go of me!” Jade demanded, fighting off Dirk’s grip. She really really _really_ didn’t want to use her magic against him, but if he didn’t start backing the fuck up, she was about to go postal on his ass.

“You’re not going anywhere!”

“Let go!!!” Jade nearly screamed as Latula barked “D1RK W3 GOTT4 OLL13 OUT!”

“Jade, we gotta get out of this bitch!” Dave suddenly said from right next to her. She spun her head around and looked at him. She randomly noted that he didn’t have his crown helmet any longer. “This place is going more nuts than a goddamn squirrel asylum!”

“She stays with me!” Dirk commanded. “There’s a twenty percent better chance that she’ll survive with me!”

“Dirk let me go!” Jade commanded Dirk herself.

“No!”

Before Jade realized what was going on, there was a red steel fist and suddenly Dirk was reeling back, his hand on his face, crashing into Latula. Another house-rocking crash occurred and Dave gently grabbed Jade’s arm and started leading her through the crowd.

“Sollux!” Jade shouted toward Dave. “We have to get Sollux!”

“Jacob’s got him!” Dave called back. “Now we need to haul our asses out of this shithole in one piece before all these outrageous hanging glass houses fall.”

“What’s happening!?” Jade demanded as the two of them crossed to the far wall, people still mounding up around them.

He stopped as he moved to a long hanging tapestry. “Isn’t it obvious?” He asked her with a smirk. “I’m keeping you safe.”

With that, he slipped them behind a door hidden behind the ruddy tapestry. He slammed the door behind them. In the darkness, Jade paused to let her eyes adjust. Before she blinked, she could see just as well as she had in the well-lit hall. She looked to Dave to see him blinking rapidly. She took this as her only chance.

She grabbed his shoulders, making him jump. “You need to promise me that Sollux is coming with us,” she told him urgently. “You need to promise me he’s safe!”

“Look,” Dave told her, looking in the general direction of her face. “None of us are safe until we get out of here! The wide obstacle labeled ‘Prince Dirk’ behind us but we got the next one labeled ‘getting the fuck out of and off the House Time estate.’ But Karkat’s got the biggest man crush on that lisping asshole, so there was no way we were leaving that guy behind.”

Dave finally focused on her and he smirked at her. “Let’s start jumping shit,” he told her, taking her hand again.

Another booming crash sounded and they took off down the dark hall. “What’s happening?!” Jade demanded as they ran.

“Damara, Jacob and Ness are helping us throw the biggest ‘fuck you’ party Caitlin has ever seen.”

“Why are we doing this?”

Dave stopped them again, looking into her green eyes.

“I’m going to keep you safe,” he told her again. “I’m not going to take you to Jack.”

Jade felt her face light up for the umpteenth time that night. “I… Dave…” was all she could spit out.

Dave realized that Jade wasn’t going to be able to say anything else, so he tries to take off again. “Wait,” Jade insisted, pulling on his hand for him to stop. As they skidded to a halt, Jade said, “I need to say something in case something happens!”

“Tell me la—” he tried to say but Jade interrupted him with a kiss.

Dave froze as Jade pressed her lips to his. It seemed like an eternity before he slowly, oh so slowly, moved his hands up and pressed his fingers into her back. It was that little touch that sent them over the edge. Her hands moved from his shoulders to his hair, pressing his face to hers. One hand moved up to tangle into her long curling locks, the other wrapping around her to press her body as close as he could to his.

She tasted the mint on his breath, just as before. She also could taste another mysterious flavor, behind the mint. It reminded her of forbidden fruit and dark places. It drew her to it, like a moth to a flame, making her in just want it more. Their kiss became more urgent, more demanding of each other. Dave, not able to completely control himself, he pinned her against the wall of the narrow hallway, trapping her body between the wall and his body.

But just as quickly as they began, they broke apart. Dave looked deeply into her eyes for a split second before unpinning her from the wall. Taking her hand gently in his, they ran down the hall again. But now, with open room to run, Jade couldn’t take running in those ridiculous heels. With a pang of regret, she kicked them off as she ran, leaving the glittering ruby slippers on the dusty stone floor.

The path finally ended and led to stairs. At the top, she found Jacob, Ness, Karkat, and an angry Sollux on Jacob’s back. They all looked the same, Ness even still having her circlet upon her brow. “Jade?!” Sollux shouted when their steps floated up the stairs.

“I’m here!” she called to him.

“About goddamn time!” Karkat yelled at them.

“Loud-mouth’s right,” Jacob concurred. Karkat started to hiss at him, a sure sign of one of his impending rants, but a boom that shook the very foundation of the house distracted him.

“Jacob,” Ness said urgently, laying a hand on the tall knight’s arm.

“We need to go this way,” Jacob said, turning down the hall. He took off at a fast jog, even with the heavy mage on his back.

But they hadn’t gone very far before

“JACOB BARTLEY!” A voice like a whip cracked down the hall.

The party stops and spins around to see Caitlin standing down at the end of the hall, an empty doorway behind her. The circlet that she had worn during dinner had been knocked askew, tatters running down her scarlet dress and dragging mantle. Strands of her hair were starting to fall out of the elaborate curls that she had once worn.

Jade grabbed Dave’s hand, hiding behind him slightly. “Don’t you dare leave me,” she whispered to him. He didn’t turn away from Caitlin, but he squeezed her hand in assurance.

“David Strider, Jacob Bartley,” she said through her teeth. “I _demand_ to know what in the Lord’s name do you think you are fucking doing?!”

Jade didn’t know what to expect, but it wasn’t Jacob shouting down at her, “What does it look like we’re fucking doing?” he demanded in return. “We’re getting these guys out of here!”  
“ _Jacob_!” Ness screeched.

Caitlin couldn’t respond, but even from this distant, Jade could feel her rage. Silently, Jacob handed Sollux over to Karkat, who accepted his blind friend with a grunt. Jake glanced at Karkat, making sure he could handle the load before turning to Caitlin.

“Jacob Bartley, you are no Skaian knight,” she spit through clenched teeth. “You cannot abandon your house! You must do as I say!” her volume was only increasing, and when she finished her spiel at Jacob, her voice was shaking off the stone wall. “ _KILL THEM ALL, BARTLEY!_ ”

There is a pause while the two face each other down before finally Jacob responded.

“Go fuck yourself,” he told her.

Caitlin turned as red as her dress while the men burst into laughter. They laughed only for a second before Jacob gave the other knights a gesture Jade didn’t understand. All the men ran down the hall, Dave tugging Jade’s hand along. But she pulled her hand out of Dave’s hand when she saw that Ness was looking at Caitlin, not moving. Dave stopped to look at her, worried, but she waved him away. After a split second, he ran after his fellow knights and Jade went to Ness.

“You would have me killed, Caitlin?” Ness asked her quietly, dangerously.

“I would,” Caitlin said as she threw off her mantle, her tone just as quiet with just as much danger.

“We need to go!” Jade insisted, grabbing Ness’s hand.

“I think it’s finally time we tested out power, Vanessa,” Caitlin said, ignoring Jade.

“So do I,” Ness declared confidently, keeping her eyes on Caitlin, removing her hand from Jade’s throwing off her own mantle.

“Please,” Jade maintained, near tears. “For Jake,” she tried.

At that, Ness paused, finally looking away from Caitlin, but not at Jade still. Slowly, she turned to Jade. With a small, sad smile, “Tell him I love him,” Ness whispered to Jade.

“Tell him yourself!” Jade said, grabbing her arm again.

Ness snatched her hand out of Jade’s. With her hands free now, she shoved Jade away, back down to where the knights had run off. “Go, run,” she told her. “I’ll buy you some time.”

“Ness!” Jade said, her voice echoed by Jacob’s, coming from down the hall. “She’s not worth it!” Jade persisted, trying to pull at Ness’s hand again.

“Ness!” came Jacob’s voice again, much closer this time. As Jade turned around, she saw Jacob come back from around the corner from which the knights had first disappeared. He stopped to take in the scene, worry painting his face. His eyes kept going back to Ness.

While Jade’s back was turned, Ness pushed at Jade again. “Go! Watch and protect your friends,” she told Jade’s fear-stricken face. “I’ll be okay,” she assured her.

Jake walked over to Ness taking her hand. He nodded to Jade before looking back at Caitlin, still watching the scene with shrewd eyes. “I…” Jade tried to say, tears finally breaking through the dams she had tried to build up.

“Jade!”

“COME ON, DILLWAD, WE GOTTA GO!”

Jade, with tears in her eyes, hurried to meet Karkat and Dave, who were already coming back for her. She grabbed Dave’s hand and sprinted down the hall again. The three ran in silent aside from Karkat huffing and puffing with his load. They stopped only open a heavy stone door into a circular corridor, leading underground.

Tears were still streaming down Jade’s face, unsure of what was in Ness and Jake’s fate. Dave, uneasy with her tears, squeezed her hand in comfort. “They’ll be fine,” he said consolingly.

“Probably,” Karkat contradicted, earning a glare from Jade. He shrugged awkwardly at her, earning some swears from Sollux. “Come on, she’s facing Caitlin. She’s just gonna possess Jacob and have him murder Vanessa.”

Jade stopped on a dime, pulling Dave up short. “Then we have to go back there!” she told them.

“No, Jade, we can’t!” Dave declared. “We have to get you and Sollux out of here!”

“But,” Jade persisted, “We have to save them!”

“We’ll just have to kill Jake and he could hurt or even kill you or Sollux while Dave and I have to deal with his ass!” Karkat yelled at her.

“That’s the worst death imaginable!” Jade screamed back. She pulled away from Dave, turning around in the middle of the tunnel. “I’m a witch,” she said slowly, her power starting to gather around her. Green light started to radiate from her as her hair began to float. “I’m going to save the people who took care of me,” she murmured, and without waiting, she ran down the corridor.

“WAIT!” Dave and Karkat yelled after her.

Jade picked up speed, but she didn’t get far before a massive explosion erupts, shaking the stone around them. Just ahead of her, the passageway collapsed. Undeterred, Jade continued to run until she reached the pile of fallen rocks. The walls continued to shake. “JADE!” The knights called, Dave running after her.

Jade stopped, tears running down her face anew, angrily trying to pull the stone out of her way. Dave grabbed her as softly as he could and pulled her back from the pile. “Jade,” he said as gently as he could. “Jade, come on, we have to go. This shit may fall in on itself again.”

“W-we have to save them!” Jade stated, her voice shaking with her tears.

“Jade, that was wind magic,” Karkat told her, but more softly than before, the sarcasm out of his voice. “I recognized it. If something was gonna happen it already has. She’s either killed Caitlin or Jake or they’ve killed her.”

“Dude, enough,” Dave snapped at him.

Looking at Jade, shaking with grief and glaring at Karkat, he swept Jade into his arms and carried her to safety, back the way they were originally escaping to, rushing ahead of Karkat. Jade tried to squeal, but it came out as a broken sob. She then started to squirm in his arms, refusing to give up on them.

“I don’t know what happened, but I think Ness is fine,” Dave tried to assure her. She stilled as he spoke, listening. “But,” he continued, “if she hurt Caitlin, no magic in all of Skaia can save her.” Jade became deathly still at this, but Dave felt as if he owed her the whole truth. “She’ll be executed.”

“But she’s smart,” he continued when he saw the color drain from her face. “She knows that’s what will happen to her. Trust her, okay?”

Jade nodded, and let Dave cradle her into his chest. She let her tears roll down her cheeks as he carried her out of House Time.


	15. Lost

"NO THIS AIN'T RIGHT!" Jack screamed at the empty glass ball in front of him.

He stood in the communal parlor between the two seers' chambers. Behind him stood the massive image of Calliope, still hiding the seers' holiest 'chamber.' He stood over a round table that held a small glass orb in its center. Jack held the edge of the table in a death grip, panting heavily, his jaw clenched as his breath whizzed like a swarm of wasps between his clenched teeth.

"Shouting at it doesn't change the vision, your majesty," Rose responded evenly.

"You, boy," Jack spit at John, turning his glare to the heir next to him. "Make the broads call up the witch."

"How?" John asked incredulously, too bewildered to remember his manners.

"If I knew I wouldn't be asking your sorry ass to do it for me, now would I?!" He turned back on the two seers calmly sitting across from him, their hoods down low over their eyes. "Bring the witch back!" he demanded. "Find her! KILL HER!"

"King Jack, there is NOTH1NG we can do," Terezi replied, just as calm as Rose had been. "And you already know that W3 cannot kill her with our powers any more than you can summon her by screaming at the wall."

A string of profanities slid past Jack's teeth as he stared at the two seers. He lifted a hand, but it was no longer empty. Now, King Jack grasped a knife between his fingers. John jumped to his feet, his hand already reaching for his hammer. But before John could even draw it, Jack jammed the knife into the table with such force the wood splintered across the entire length. He didn't stop there as he removed the knife and began stabbing the table repeatedly.

The seers, not having even flinched, simply rescued the crystal orb. Rose grabbed the tattered table cloth and Terezi snatched it as it rolled toward her. Jack only continued tearing through the table as both seers rose from their seats.

Terezi took the orb away and Rose motioned for John to follow her. John glanced at Jack, now screaming at the table as well as viscously stabbing it, before he followed her.

The women led him into a parlor within Terezi's half of the wing. Here, the walls were still covered with random blotches of clashing color and graffiti of all sorts. Matching the rest of her chambers.

"So really, where are they?" John asked as soon as the door was closed.

"We don't know any more than you do," Terezi told him simply as she put away the crystal ball.

"Wait, what?" John demanded. "I thought you two were lying to him! Come on, you have to know where they are."

"John," Rose said gently but firmly, "We have a few IDEAS of where they're at, but no actual pinpoints. We were telling Jack the truth. There is too much Time magic interfering with our powers. We cannot find them any more than you can."

John could only stare at them. "You're kidding," he tried to ask, but it came out as more of a statement than a question. "You two powerful seers can't find them because of a little magic? Can't you use your own magic?"

"Our magics conflict, smartass," Terezi told him, a small bite crawling into her tone. "We are Space and they are Time. But since our magic is passive and theirs aggressive, there is L1T3R4LLY nothing we can do."

Both the seers stood at the same instant, just as Jack burst through the door. "Keep looking for 'em," Jack growled at them. "And don't you DARE stop it neither. Not until you find those good for nothing Knights and that witch. Ya hear me?"

"Of course K1NG J4CK," the seers said with a bow.

Without another word, Jack turned on his heel and stormed out and away from the room and out of the whole wing.

Terezi shooed the others away and Rose led herself and John out of Terezi's chambers.

Rose led him into the hall between the two chambers of the seers. John grabbed her hand as she started to walk off. She turned to look at him, but before she could ask, he pulled her into a hug.

Shocked, Rose froze. John had wrapped her in a tight hug that bordered on uncomfortable, though she had to admit that the close proximity to him was not unwelcome. And, she noted as her face heated up, he had a fascinating and wonderful smell. "John," she said pointedly as a reasonless embarrassment arose within her as the time ticked by.

He sighed deeply before he released her. "Sorry," he said simply. "There's just so much going on and with all the drama that's been going down around here and Dave and Karkat not being here with me and now with them disappearing..." John sighed again, putting his head in his hands, "there's a lot to deal with." He lifted his head with another sigh before looking back to her with a small smile. "I think I'd go crazy if it weren't for you."

Rose returned his smile as she tried to suppress another blush. "Thank you, Lo-- John. But I hardly believe that I am the sole reason you are hanging on to sanity." 

"Nope," John told her, absently walking toward her parlor. She followed him as he said "The dignitary and hegemon are on Jack's side, so there's no way I'm talking to them, and Terezi creeps me out."

"Is it her blindness, John?" Rose asked pointedly.

"No, it’s more like the way she looks straight at me and inhales deeply when I get a papercut," he answered easily as he fell gracelessly onto a chase lounge. "Terezi is just creepy. She could not be blind and she'd freak me out. You are my one saving grace, Rose," he told her, looking her full in the face as she sat down.

"Oh," she answered lamely, studying the nautical-patterned rug at her feet. That was brilliant, Lalonde, she chastised herself. "Well then," she tried again, "I am pleased I am able to help you keep your grip on rationality," she told him with a smile.

He returned her smile with the biggest grin he had, which made her giggle. He liked it when she laughed or just smiled, really. Instead of having that serious twist to her lips she sometimes had that she called a smile.

He used his powers of wind to bring over a tray full of tea and cakes that was waiting for them. "Tea for the lady?" he asked as the pot poured a glass for himself.

"Why yes, thank you," she responded, reaching for the pot.

But before she could grab the pot, it flew out of her grasp again.

"John!" She said reproachfully, holding back a smile. She tried to cover her smile with a stern frown, but she could feel the corners of her mouth twitching.

"Allow me!" He said grandly, making the pot pour another cup.

The pot gently floated back down to the tray, which was resting on the air between them. Her cup followed down, resting just out of her reach.

"John," she said again, the amusement leaving her as she gave him a respectful, yet stern look.

"I'll give you your cup," he said slowly, keeping eye contact, as we walked over to her at a speed that matched his words. "For a kiss," he finished, coming to a stop directly in front of her.

Again, Rose was stunned into silence. John sat on the air beside her as he explained "Don't worry, I'm not going to ask for any more than that. I won't take or ask you to give yourself to me. And I’m sure as hell not going to have you lose your powers for one night of pleasure."

Wait, her gifts? She thought. Where did the worry for her gifts come into play? He had been sweet when he told her that he wouldn't ask for more. Now he was just confusing her. Sex and sight were not mutually exclusive.

"Why are you concerned about my gifts?" She finally asked.

He looked just as confused as she was for an instant. "Don't you lose your powers if you...?" He trailed off, gestured vaguely between the two of them.  
It still took her half an instant before it clicked. Oh he could not be serious. She put her face in her hand as she released a heavy sigh. She had forgotten the rumors that surrounded the order of the seers. 

He seemed even more confused as well as flustered when she looked back at him a second later. But when she saw him ready to stand and move away from her, she started. This is not what she wanted. So she decided to stop him.

"John," she told him, coming in close. She watched with amusement as his eyes grew wide and his blush returned. "I'm going to confide in you a secret," she said playfully, watching a smile play at his lips as his blush began to fade. "If you had gifts that always made you close to royalty and nobility that always believe that they are entitled to anything they see, can you think of a better way to keep them at bay?"

His smile widened. He shook his head, playing along with her. She smiled at him a little wider as well. He really did love that smile of hers. "We could not either."  
They smiled at each other, neither moving back or forward. John's face turned tender as he stared at her. Her own face became flustered for an instant before John laid his hand gently on her cheek. Her eyes fluttered shut as he gently brought her face closer to his. He paused an instant as he brought them close enough to have their noses resting on the other's faces. He could feel her breath racing against his face. Once her breathing evened, he pressed his lips to hers.

Oh my, was really all she could think. He was slow, moving his lips easily, smoothly against hers. She moved her hands to lay them on his chest, moving her face into his. She felt the air shift around her and suddenly, yet smoothly, she was in his lap.

She started, moving back a fraction, and he pulled back as well. "Do you want your tea now?" he asked with a smile, making her cup float up between them.

She laughed, making him laugh in return. "A different desire is currently foremost in my," she told him, a coy smile crossing her face.

He kissed her lips again, earning a quick response from her. Her hands ran up his chest to wrap around his neck. He moved one hand to the back of her neck, tugging at her hair lightly, making her head fall back. His lips traveled across her jaw and to her ear. He lightly bit her earlobe before he asked "Have any come before me?"

She started, drawing back from him. She almost glared at his relaxed face. But when he brought his blue, blue eyes to hers, she saw the worry in them. Worry for whom, though? He swept her hair away from her face and said "I don't care if you've slept with one or one thousand men before me," he told her, a fierceness crossing his face. "But I need to know," he explained, "so I don't hurt you."

A ferocious blush colored her face. She was touched, now that she knew why he had asked. She looked down at his chest and shook her head. "None," she whispered, hunching her shoulders slightly.

She could feel the air wrap around her, like an embrace, as he leaned up, bringing himself closer to her. He curled his fingers under her chin, angling her face up to his. "It'll be okay," he told her before he kissed her again lightly. "I promise."

She breathed a sigh against his lips. "I believe you."

And they kissed again.

~~~

That night, he held her close to him, and even with her in his arms, he thought of another that could find his knights, his friends, even when this woman couldn't. Once he knew she was deeply asleep, he arose from her bed, as naked as a blue jay, and walked to the window. Still with it closed, he used his powers and opened the cage of mocking birds.

He saw them cross the moon and knew she would get them and come to his call.

He heard Rose stir behind him. "John?" she asked sleepily.

He was next to her in an instant. "I'm here," he whispered in her ear. She sighed happily and snuggled into his chest.

He kissed the top of her head and drifted off to sleep himself.


	16. A Theif in the House

The morning was late when John finally left Rose. He had kissed her on her window sill before flying off to his balcony. Luck seemed to be on his side, for has soon as he landed, of course Jack's lackeys bust through the door. After the small spat, he turned his back to the two, so done with them.

He turned away from them as they bowed in an apathetic way and left the room again. He looked over Windenshade, letting the wind ruffle his hair. God, he hated them. He turned his gaze to the mocking birds that had already returned to their cages. And among them he saw it. The one solitary mocking bird that had the oddest cerulean hue to its feathers.

John spun around and ran to a dresser. As he rushed over to the dresser, he threw off his noble robes, leaving them strewn across the room. He yanked out some of his "commoner clothes" as Dave and Karkat liked to call them and jumped into them as he ran back out on his balcony.

Not wanting the noise of the wind giving him away, he climbed over the balcony's banister and to the ivy choked wall next to it. Slowly, he made his way down, trying to avoid breaking as many as the leaves as he could. He looked down at the balcony below his, noting how the vines were climbing over the railings now, creeping to the locked doors.  
Deciding he was close enough, he drew his winds around him as quietly as he could and floated over to the landing. He didn't even think about the lock as he walked toward it. As almost a random thought, he told the winds to pop the lock, as he grabbed the door handle.

He frowned slightly at the smell once he opened the door. Must. The staff needed to clean, or at least air out, the castle's unused rooms. He knew they were shorthanded right now, but this place smelled like it hadn't been entered in a year. 

"Joooooooohn~" a disembodied voice called to him.

On instinct he pressed his back against the nearest wall, looking around for her. He was glad he had thought to leave anything valuable off of him this time.

Joooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooohn~" the voice called at him again.

"It still amazes me that you can hold that syllable for that long," he told her, looking for where she'd appear.

"It's easy to do when you're so great at everything!" She said from directly above him.

He looked up and finally found her. Laying atop a wardrobe, she held her head in her hands with one foot in the air. Like a child, almost. She was smiling at him in that smug little way he knew so well. How she had managed to stay unseen in that bright yellow outfit and those red red shoes was beyond him.

"Hello, your _highness_ ~," she called to him, lowering her head to rest on her now crossed arms. "What is the heir of Windenshade doing dressed like _that_?" She demanded at him.

"Hunting for no good theives," he threw back at her with a smirk. 

"No good?!" She nearly shouted at him. "News flash, dillweed, I am the absolute _best_ thief in this whole damn kingdom!!"

He knew he was already in trouble, but he couldn't help himself. The way her face was scrunched up, like she was taking him seriously, was both frightening and adorable. And he could not stop himself.

He started to laugh. His laughter was so loud it filled the room. He was almost positive that it was being carried out on the wind through the open doors, but he just didn't care. He laughed so hard that he propped his back against the wall and slid down to sit on the floor. God, it felt good to laugh.

He heard the wardrobe shake. Seconds later he was being yanked up by the front of his shirt. She got right in his face, so close her nose was pressed against his face. "Tell me, asshole, what the hell is so funny?!" Her shriek was so shrill he heard birds fly off in fright.

"Vriska," he said slowly, trying to keep his laughter under control, "of _course_ I would never think that you were anything but the best thief in the whole of Windenshade." He watched as her face and fingers started to relax with a grin. "What's shocking is that you thought I meant 'good' as in skill." 

"Calling me evil now?" She spat at him, even as she released the front of his shirt.

"No," he said simply. They stared each other down for a second before she sighed and relaxed. She sat on the floor across from him as he continued. "I'm just not calling you a saint."

"Saints are boring," she said easily as she propped her head up with one hand, her elbow on her knee. "Speaking of boring, why don't we cut the bullshit and you tell me why you called me here."

"You'd never make it in politics, Vriska."

"If I wanted to be a noble, I would be. But being a thief has all the perks of being rich like all those aristocratic assholes without the added headache of dealing with the rest of the nobility," she told him with a flip of her hair. "Truly, I have the better profession!" She finished with a wide grin, exposing many teeth.

"Truly," John agreed with an incline if his head. "Anyway," he told her as he sat up straight, "I called you here because I need you to find someone for me."

Her eyebrow shot up. "Find some _one_ , John? The same someone that slept with you last night?"

"What!?" John sputtered out, his face turning beet red.

"John," she said pointedly, giving him a slightly exasperated look. "You reek of some woman's perfume. It smells high end, so it wasn't a cheap whore. I take it that you woke up and she was gone?"

"No!" He nearly shouted, his face so hot he could cook eggs on it. "Stay out of my sex life!"

He felt his mind get fuzzy. He looked straight at her, at that seven pupil eye that used to freak him out. The image filled his mind. He felt her probe at his mind, searching for secrets. He knew her better than that.

Her eye led to memories they shared. Of running across the castle, stealing things and causing pranks. Of quite, starlit hideaways where they talked for hours on end. Of heated nights they had.

She sighed explosively, turning away, breaking the contact. The pressure on his mind disappeared. "You know better than to use that trick on me," he told her.

Her lip was set in a pout when she turned back to him. "Can't blame a girl for trying," she told him simply. "So who am I trying to find for the great and powerful Heir of Windenshade?" she asked him haughtily.

"My knights, Dave and Karkat," he told her seriously, relieved at the change of subject.

"Did The Knights call them back and you want to know where they went next?" she raised an eyebrow at him again.

"No, Jack sent them on an assignment, which the seers were monitoring, but they've lost them and I need you to find them again."

"You want me to find the seers?!"

"No I just told you I want you to find Dave and Karkat!"

"Than you should have specified!"

They both huffed in irritation. The two glared at each other for an instant before John started to giggle. He fought the humor rising in him. By her twitching lips, he could tell that she was fighting the same nameless absurdity. After only a minute, it was too much and they both dissolved into a fit of laughter.

Once the laughing subsided, he stood up and extended a hand to her, which she took. Once on their feet, they locked eyes again. She smiled at him in that mischievous way she was known for so well. "So what do I get if I say yes to finding your knights?"

Keeping her hand, he reached behind him, calling to his winds. They quickly brought him a large and heavy pouch. Vriska's eyes lit up when she heard the clink of coins within the bag as the winds placed them in his open hand. But her eyes turned hostile as the winds opened the bag and took half the coins inside the bag out. He presented her with the half empty bag. He released her hand and placed the pouch into her now empty hand.

"You get the other half when you tell me when you find them."

Her mouth twisted in a smirk. "Smart man," she said as she snatched the sack away. "Consider it done!" she declared with a small kiss on his lips. She winked and walked out onto the balcony. With another smirk to him, she hopped down and disappeared.

He laughed and made his way back to his room.

Later, he discovered one of his favorite and fastest horses had been stolen, much to Tavros's, his page and best groomsman, horror. But John just let it go. He knew he would probably see that horse again, but only when she was good and ready to give it back.

**Author's Note:**

> The prompt, as given to me on the original site, writtenhomestuckrequests.tumblr.com, by Prospitsprincess (then Halfwritten-fairytale): 
> 
> You should write a DaveJade fic in the medieval stuck AU. Where Jack Noir is king for now, John’s the Heir Apparent,Dave is John’s personal knight, and Dave’s been sent to bring Jade in to be burned, John doesn’t like the idea of killing anyone so when Dave gets back with this witch he’s fallen for (not that he’d ever admit it) John begs him not to and they devise a plan to kill Jack Noir, Make John King, and fluff ensues…


End file.
